


Cherry

by Lokisbestgirl



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Wings, Angel/Human Relationships, Cuddles, Dean is hesitant about settling down, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Happy Ending, It's going to be painful, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pregnancy Scare, Sam and Gabe as adoptive parents, but its going to be worth it, oh no I won't say I'm in love, the usual yoyo of Winchester doubt, they go on an actual case
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2019-09-01
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:31:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 37,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lokisbestgirl/pseuds/Lokisbestgirl
Summary: When heaven's most snarky archangel comes back from the "dead", he's met with a crushing realization. He loves Sam Winchester. Its a gnawing feeling that won't leave him alone when he sees those minuscule gardens of sunflowers in Sam's eyes. In the middle of a war, can Gabriel overcome his persistence of pushing his feelings down, or will he be broken by Michael before he can utter those three simple words to the hunter he needs most in the universe?





	1. Sunflower Eyes

The mission was crystal clear to them. The archangel Gabriel knew that the quicker they went in and saved the Winchesters’ mother, the sooner he could get back to what was really grating on his mind. Since his previous imprisonment with Asmodeus, he had realized what his priorities really were, and where his heart truly lied. Trudging through the desaturated leaves in the apocalypse world, he kept his eyes on Sam who happened to be walking just ahead of him. His trusty shotgun rested at his side, and was ready to be pulled at any time. For some reason, he always felt extremely protective over the taller Winchester. The past few weeks had been incredibly enlightening to him to say the least. To Gabriel, weeks dragged on like an eternity because of how trapped inside of his own head he'd been. The recovery hadn't been easy. Sam was ultimately the only one that he trusted and the only one that could get through to him in his most dire moment of need. The nightmares never stopped, and that was what led to his sleepless nights and the bags under his eyes. As they walked, no one talked much because everyone in the group was focused on the mission or too deep in worry to be up for talking. Gabe thought back on his time in the bunker.

*******  
One night, Gabe had been tangled up in his sheets at the bunker, writhing in his sleep, covered in sweat. He cried out into the air, someone’s names falling from his lips like a lyric from a hymn. The name he'd cried out from his deep slumber was ‘Sam’. Sam had woken up from a dead sleep once he heard his name echoing throughout the bunker. He'd insisted on Gabriel’s room being next to his because the angel had only opened up to him in his time of need, so it was Sam who'd heard the call and responded to him when he called out in his sleep. When he entered the room, he found the former trickster twisting in his bed, whimpering and finally curling up in fetal position. Sam hurried over, no stranger to the nightmares himself. He fought with himself mentally on what to do, but ultimately reached over to gently shake Gabe awake. 

“Sam!” He cried out again, more clear than ever. “No, please! Stop!” 

“Gabe,” Sam prodded his arm, his brows knitting together as he realized he'd need to do more than just that. “Gabe, I’m right here. You’ve got to wake up, okay? You’re having a nightmare.” 

As he said that, the archangel’s eyelids snapped open, eyes glowing a hot white-gold. He’d been ready to attack. Before Sam had jostled him awake, he was dreaming that he was back in the hands of Asmodeus. The prince of Hell had been ruthless, leaving out no method of torture when it came to Gabriel. The menu item of the day was usually something psychological. If he were to break Gabe’s psyche, then he wouldn’t have to worry about him escaping. He’d gotten into Gabriel’s head, deep into the very depths, and he discovered the memory of Gabriel flirting with Sam when they first met. Every single day, he would send in a hallucination Sam. Gabe would think that he was going to escape because hallucination Sam would be so caring at first. He’d step in, his shaggy hair catching glints of sunlight that poked in from the cracks in the dungeon. Every detail of Sam was eerily correct; his minuscule garden in his sunflower eyes, the speckled small moles scattered on Sam’s face, and even his soft touch. Even when Sam had been holding a stake up to Gabriel in that alleyway with the Mystery Spot shenanigans, he'd felt the softness to his hands. They were firm, yet soft at the same time. Hallucination Sam would come in and pretend to be concerned, wanting to help Gabe. The moment that Gabe would cave, asking for help, Sam would hit him hard enough to draw blood or call him weak. The prince of Hell let the hallucination beat Gabe for a while, then he'd come in and finish Gabe off once the archangel was completely bloodied. Gabe would be unrecognizable before he deemed the punishment over and put the angel into a deep sleep. 

Gabe’s eyes darted around his room in the bunker, and he saw Sam. Fear glinted in his eyes. Sam noticed that immediately and gently took his hands off of Gabe, keeping them to himself.

“I’m not here to hurt you, Gabriel, you’re okay, I promise,” Sam assured him. 

“Sam..” Gabe spoke in a weaker voice, eyes flashing back to their normal whiskey color.

“What?” Sam’s brows raised in question.

“Uh—never mind, it was stupid,” Gabe shook his head, finally uncurling himself from fetal position on his side. 

“No, there are no stupid requests here,” Sam replied with his warm tone, a smile gracing his lips.

The angel stammered around for a second before he finally gathered up the courage to ask the question.

“Will you stay with me?”

Sam’s eyes widened slightly as he took a moment to process. In that moment, he took in the visage of Gabriel laying there before him. The bruises were fading— his lips less red and angry from where they had been sewn shut. His golden whiskey-colored eyes were staring up at him like Gabriel was a lost puppy dog. His blondish-brown curls were tousled from his tossing and turning, and his chest— did he have abs? Sam finally snapped back to reality. 

“I uh— yeah, I can, I’ll just go get some blankets and make a pallet over here on the floor,” Sam murmured, his brain already planning ten steps ahead. 

“No, no, I— I meant, that I might feel better if you were laying here with— me.” 

Sam’s eyes widened even more, a large hand coming to brush through his own hair nervously. It was like he had become teenage Sammy all over again. 

“So you want me to get into bed with you?” He clarified.

“I— no, it was stupid, forget I asked,” Gabe irritably replied, shaking his head slightly. 

“No, that’s fine with me—“ Sam trailed off, unable to avoid the awkward pause. 

Instead of arguing about the sleeping situation further, Sam gingerly lifted the covers from the bottom of the bed, swinging his long legs up and under them as he slid into bed with Gabriel. He was wearing grey sweatpants, but nothing else. His toned chest was hard to ignore. Gabe was facing away from him in a spooning position, so he instinctively started to wrap an arm around Gabe. He stopped before it could snake all the way around. On the other side, Gabe pouted slightly to himself. Why was Moose so afraid of man-to-man contact? Maybe he was just nervous around Gabriel. The angel gently turned to face Sam, briefly looking into those doe-like hazel eyes before he dared to wrap his own arm around Sam’s waist. 

“I get nightmares. I think maybe me initiating physical contact would help. It might make me feel safe.” Gabe admitted, really opening up to Sam in a way he'd never opened up to anyone before. 

Sam’s skin prickled slightly at the touch, his heartbeat quickening out of nervousness. All he could do was let Gabriel hold him, but he did not want to lay there like a rag-doll, so he wrapped is own arms there on the outside of Gabe’s smaller frame. It was a bit awkward, so Gabe shifted to lay facing away from Sam once more. Sam scooted closer. He didn’t mind the closeness so much now. Gabe was like a little space heater, and the weather was cold even though the bunker did a good job at insulation. The archangel was suddenly hyperaware of Sam’s arm around him. He could feel Sam’s fingertips through the fabric of his thin shirt, his heart racing as Sam scooted closer, actually pressing his body against Gabriel’s. Cue the angel’s skin tingling. It must have felt that way because his grace was so low. He was feeling quite the array of human emotions. Feeling the band of Sam’s sweatpants meeting his lower back, he knew that their skin would be less than an inch apart. He couldn’t take it. Gabe had feelings for Sam for quite some time, actually since the incident at the college. He’d shoved them down at first, but found that he couldn’t keep Sam off of his mind. Sam had never responded to his flirtations, so why were they stuck spooning in a bed? Gabe was too tired to find out, so he just decided to try and go to sleep. One of his arms instinctively came to rest on Sam’s at his side. It took a moment to pinch himself and realize Sam wasn’t about to slap him across the face. ‘He isn't a hallucination’ he reminded himself. 

*******

The cool wind brushed through Gabriel’s curls as they walked, making the journey harder because the cold was making his hands numb. It wasn’t quite an ice age in apocalypse world, but he could feel the cold biting through his leather jacket. Sam had fallen back a little as they walked, falling into step with Gabriel on his left side. 

“Hey.” Sam murmured, almost so just the two of them could hear.  
“Hey you.” Gabe grinned, shaking his head as he continued, “So when are we going to get past first base in this conversation? You might bore me to death before we get there, Samsquatch.”

“Wanna play twenty questions then?” Sam joked and Gabe gave a roll of his eyes.

“Sure.”

“What do your wings look like?” Sam grinned.

Gabe actually blushed when he mentioned that. An angel’s wings were something very intimate to them. No one saw them or touched them except for other angels and their soulmates. 

“They’re big. /Really big/. I’ve got three sets that all connect to my back, so six wings. They’re a shimmery gold.” He stuck to simple answers, moving on. “My turn. So what’s with you and the flannel fetish?” 

That actually got a pure and genuine smile from Sam. 

“I dunno— I just see a flannel and I have to have it. You might have to stage an intervention.” Sam joked and Gabriel grinned, noticing those golden sunflower petals in his eyes again. He quickly looked away. “Favorite color?” 

“Umm— ruby red.” Gabe actually pondered on that one, wanting to answer the color of Sam’s eyes. “What about you?”

“A sunset amber.” He replied smoothly.

“Wow, you’ve really thought about this.” 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s something I think about a lot.” Sam smiled.

“Favorite candy?” Gabe fired back rapidly.

‘M&ms. Now— now that we’ve gotten warmed up, how about something a little deeper?” Sam’s eyebrow quirked up and he continued. “The other night— did you really need me in bed or was it just a ploy?”

Gabe scoffed when he heard that, turning his face away from Sam so he couldn’t see his shock. He was completely taken off guard by that. 

“I needed you.” It wasn’t a lie. “I slept better with you there. By the way, you enjoyed it, Mr.” Gabe accused. 

“Enjoyed it? How?” Sam actually felt a warm heat blossoming on his cheeks as Gabe called him out. 

“Well you were standing at attention before I was even asleep.” He whispered into Sam’s ear after tiptoeing up to do so. 

Sam practically choked on his own saliva, coughing, which caused Dean to give him a concerned look. 

“You alright, Sammy?” 

“Yeah. I uh— I’m parched.”


	2. Hurt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was inspired by the song "Hurt" by Johnny Cash. Its heartbreaking but we're sticking to some Supernatural canon until a certain point where I decided to branch off from it. Enjoy!

As they walked toward the camp where Mary and Jack were believed to be, Gabriel didn’t mention anything about what he'd said to Sam. He walked by his side, the taller male stealing quizzical glances at the angel now and again. He’d convinced himself that he must have heard Gabriel wrong. Support to his theory came when Gabriel didn’t acknowledge it either. Sam must have been daydreaming. 

“Gabriel— what did you say to me?” Sam dared to ask with a slight head tilt.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Gabe spoke with a straight face. 

They just continued to walk, Dean raising an eyebrow when he noticed how un-chatty they had become compared to earlier. Castiel was walking beside Dean, located on the far side of the group, scanning the trees for angel spies. 

“Cas—” Dean spoke softly.

“Yes, Dean?”

“What’s up with your brother?” Dean asked curiously, shooting a glance at the archangel to see what he was up to. Gabe was still walking next to his tree of a younger brother.

“Umm.. nothing is ‘up’ with him? What are you talking about?” Cas inquired.

“He’s acting weird. Like—weirdly well-behaved for the trickster.”

“And you’re questioning that?” Cue an eyebrow quirking up from Cas. “We should be glad he is willing to work with us. Normally he—” 

“He works alone. Got it.” Dean nodded and pursed his lips, still stealing glances over at his younger brother and the shorter archangel. He’d caught the late-night conversation between Sam and Gabe when they were back at the bunker. He’d basically been eavesdropping, but he couldn’t help but wonder why someone known to be so prideful and who always works alone would let down his walls and allow Sam in like that. Sam had always been nicer to Gabriel for some reason, and Dean wanted to know why. Was it an unspoken thing like he had with Cas? Dean still hadn't let down his own macho walls and told Cas how he really felt, though losing him the last time made him realize he should tell him. Sooner, rather than later seemed to be best with a job like theirs.

As they were walking, they came to what seemed to be a tunnel. It looked like a sewer, which was less than savory to think about, but it looked promising to deliver a straight passage to where they needed to be. Stepping in, Gabriel knew it wasn’t safe. The stench of death hung heavy in the air—but the smell was an overtly iron scent. Vampires? Gabe had his share of scuffles with them before. He pulled out his archangel blade, putting himself in front of Sam as they walked in.

“Careful— it smells like a vamp nest.” Gabe warned everyone in the group. 

“I agree.” Cas spoke up—as always—a man of few words. 

Dean stayed in front, which was where Sam wanted to be. Sam’s protective corgi was positioned in front of him. They walked for what felt like a few miles before they hit a snag. Dean shushed everyone and they could hear a gnawing sound that was definitely a vamp. Gabriel got into position, ready to fatally stab anything that came near him, with Cas doing the same near Dean. The gnawing sound stopped and Sam felt a slightly anxious flutter in his chest. It was dark—extremely dark. They had the disadvantage and the vampires knew it. One jumped out to attack Dean, but he was met with an angel blade in the chest from Castiel. The angel’s ocean blue eyes widened when he saw the ghastly appearance of the blood sucker. 

“They’re different. They’re unlike anything I’ve ever seen before.” Castiel mused, glancing to his big brother for confirmation. 

“I’ve been an archangel for millions of years and I’ve never seen anything like that— ever. He’s one ugly bastard.” Gabe commented, glancing around to make sure none of them snuck up on the group. 

They continued, more cautious as they walked, careful not to talk or make any unnecessary noises as to attract the vampires. The rest of the journey went more smooth— which was suspicious. At the end of the tunnel, they found an entrance, but it seemed to be blocked by a pile of rocks. 

“C’mon, lets get this cleared. You two fend off vamps—” Dean spoke, motioning to Sam and Gabriel as he continued, “—and we’ll clear up the rocks. We’re almost there.”

Sam gave a nod and he stood over by Gabriel. As soon as Dean and Cas moved over to start clearing the entrance, the vamps saw their chance and four jumped Sam and Gabe. Gabriel took a step back toward Sam, fighting one off easily, stabbing it in the chest and cutting off its head just to be safe. One down, three to go. Sam was fighting off two at a time and Gabe sliced the one on his side just as it grabbed Gabe’s arm, cutting off his head as well.

“That’s what you get for getting your nasty-ass claws on my favorite leather jacket.” Gabe brushed his jacket sleeve off, thinking Sam had the other two, but he was struggling. Turning, he saw that Sam had his knife at it’s throat. The creature was pushing him back against the tunnel wall and he was having a hard time fighting him. Then the vamp overpowered him, latching onto Sam’s neck. Gabe rammed his archangel blade hard through it’s chest, his eyes wide with horror as it ripped Sam’s throat out on the way down. Blood spurted out and Gabe felt his chest tighten.

“Sam!” He yelled, not concerned about any more vampires. His hand was immediately on Sam’s neck, watching as Sam’s crimson blood leaked from under it. “Stay with me!” 

Gabe had zoned out to everything else, so he barely noticed Dean brush past him, distraught over his brother. There was a high pitched ringing in his ears. ‘Was this how Sam felt when he thought he lost me?’ He wondered, his whole world screeching to a halt. His other hand was at Sam’s cheek, cupping it. His grace wasn’t working at all.

“Stay awake, Samshine. Please!” Gabe pled. 

“Gabe, Dean, we have to go!” Castiel yelled to them as he saw more vampires coming down the tunnel.

“I can’t leave him! I swore to protect him!” The archangel called out and Cas shook his head, looking to him with a sympathetic expression. He ran over quickly, wrapping one arm around Gabe and the other one around Dean, pulling them away as the light faded from those sunflower eyes. 

The rest of the walk to the camp was dead quiet. Dean and Gabriel were both completely numb inside; Dean because he lost his brother— and Gabe because he couldn’t save the one person he cared about. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, keeping his head down as he thought about how he could have just told Sam how he felt instead of being a coward. He couldn’t help but think about how kind Sam’s eyes had been when he asked him to stay the night with him. Even more in-depth than that, he couldn’t forget how warm Sam’s embrace had been that night. His arms were strong, but he was so gentle with the archangel. He actually felt his eyes glaze over when he thought about how Sam had helped him when he was newly freed from Asmodeus. That was something he could never forget.

“Do you remember me, Gabriel? It’s Sam Winchester?” 

How could I forget?

When they finally got to the camp, Castiel frowned, feeling his powers being drained from the anti-angel sigils and symbols carved in the trees. Gabriel felt nothing, but that was because as an archangel, many symbols didn’t even faze him. Glancing to his brother, he sensed how drained of energy he was. That was when he stepped up to the tree. He murmured a few things in Enochian, dragging his angel blade down the middle of the rune, and he pressed his hand into the middle of it. That burned not only the one before him, but the others close-by in the forest. He sincerely hoped that no one in the camp would figure out that he was an archangel. The goal was to blend in as much as he possibly could at camp because of the fact that the war was an angel versus human war. Walking in, he wondered how he was going to tell Sam Winchester’s mother that her baby boy had died in his arms. He looked down at his hands, walking behind everyone else. They couldn’t even give him a proper hunter’s funeral. He chose a seat by the fire, not talking to anyone. Gabriel didn’t feel like talking, especially to a group of people who despised his race. Throwing small twigs into the fire from the ground, he stared at the flames. His hands clenched into fists, short nails digging into his palms and drawing blood. He blamed himself for everything— leaving Sam initially when he faked his death, but especially letting the Winchester die on his watch. For a few hours, he stayed there and no one bothered him, save someone asking if they could sit next to him. That’s when he heard Dean.

“Sammy?” The eldest hunter asked, as if Sam was standing right in front of him. 

Gabriel looked up and raised an eyebrow, seeing Sam standing before them, looking unharmed and remarkably alive. He rose to his feet almost immediately, all of his attention focused on the tall male before them. How was Sam alive after that? That’s when he saw his brother. Lucifer. Oh, that’s how. What’s the catch? Regardless, he let Dean get first dibs on hugs on Sam as Lucifer swore he wasn’t there to cause any harm—just to find his child. Yeah, right. As much as he wanted to worry about Lucifer, his mind was clouded by Sam. He hurried over, wrapping his arms around Sam’s waist, giving him a tight hug. 

“Hey there to you too, Gabriel.” Sam smiled, finding the sudden rush of affection strange.

“I swear to dad, Sam. If you ever do that again, I’ll fly down to Hell and drag your ass back out myself.” Gabe spoke, face buried in Sam’s grey v-neck. 

“Who says I'm going to Hell? Sam teased.

“Well, wherever you go, I’m going to hunt you down.” He clarified. 

Dean could hear the emotion in Gabe’s voice. That confirmed that Gabe had it bad for the hunter. That was why he'd been so distraught. Dean hadn’t noticed as much because he'd been worried about his brother, but the more they walked and he thought about it, it made sense to him. When Gabe stopped hugging Sam, Dean pulled him off to the side. He put an arm around his shoulder as they walked behind a supply shed. 

“You need to tell him.” Dean spoke softly, looking into Gabe’s eyes with his own deep emerald eyes. He had a firm grip on his shoulder. “If you don’t now, you’ll regret it for the rest of your angelic life. Now, I don’t really like this, considering that you’ve been a dickwad to us every single time we see you, but Sam seems happier around you. The bunker has actually livened up a bit and I hear him laughing. Genuinely laughing. So tell him.”

Gabriel was shocked to hear that coming out of Dean Winchester’s mouth. He opened his mouth to say something incredibly smart-ass, but he decided against it at the last minute. 

“Hypothetically, lets say you're right about that absolute pipe dream you've come up with. What if he sees me the same way you do? What if he sees me as just a selfish, narcissistic source of entertainment? So I make him laugh, big freakin’ deal.” Gabe huffed, not wanting to talk to the eldest Winchester about feelings. That was a joke.   
“You slept with him.” Dean fired back.

“Slept in the same bed. Not ‘with’ at all. No ‘with’ about it.” 

“Did you spoon?” Dean asked, being the nosy big brother. 

“Look, I'm done here. It’s my choice what I tell Sam.” Gabe irritably retorted.

“Then choose to tell him that you care about him.” Dean prodded.

“How about you choose to tell my brother —who fawns over you— the truth instead of leading him on?” Gabe countered and turned on his heel. “We’re done here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Everything is fluffy and full of romance in the next chapter, so I hope you all will hang on with me through the painful chapters! Thank you all again for your support and please let me know what you think! Comments and kudos are appreciated! :)


	3. And Tricksters, Too.

Dean was left wondering how Gabe knew about his crush on Cas. He hadn’t told a single soul—not even his own brother. Brushing a hand through his short chestnut hair, his gaze flickered up to across the camp where Castiel was sitting with Jack. What if something happened in apocalypse world and he lost his angel again? He was pretty sure Cas used up all of his lucky chances to come back, so he sighed softly to himself, walking over. 

“Cas. I need to talk to you.” He spoke in an unintentionally commanding way. His voice was always gruff.

“Dean? What is it?” The angel’s brows furrowed. 

“Just c’mere, okay?” 

Dean shoved his hands into his green military-style jacket, turning his back to Cas because he expected him to follow. Everywhere Dean was, Cas would be there. Even unintentionally in the shower sometimes—well, so the angel thought. Angels came when they heard their name called out, and Dean just explained it away as the angel mishearing what he said. Once he'd gotten behind the same shed with Cas that he'd been talking with Gabriel behind earlier, he pursed his full lips. 

“What’s wrong, is it about Sam? Jack?” Cas’ tone was full of worry.

“It’s about you.” Dean glanced up and then down to the ground, finding it hard to look at Cas. “Look, ever since you made yourself a presence in our miserable hunter lives, you've added a certain something to our team—er family.” He started.

“An angel?” Cas quirked a brow. 

“No, think more on an—emotional level.” Why couldn’t he just spit it out?

“I…make you happy?” He was still just as confused as ever. 

“Damnit Cas,” his tone started off harsh, then he collected himself. “You remember when I said that I needed you? It was true. You keep me going. Knowing that you’re going to be there to make us laugh and keep us from slipping into the dark abyss that is this lifestyle we have—its something that I’ve been thinking about a lot.” 

“Thank you?” Castiel spoke as a question, not sure how to take that. 

“Son of a bitch—” Dean swore and looked down, gathering himself for the big reveal. “I’m in love with you. I’m not talkin’ about like how family loves each other. I’m talkin’ about the fact that I think about you all the damn time. I can’t get those baby blues out of my mind. Every time I look at you—Damn it Cas.” 

Cas stood there, dumbfounded for a moment. That was when he took a step forward and leaned up just slightly, taking the hunter’s face between his hands as he pressed his lips against Dean’s. The eldest hunter was shocked for a moment. He thought at first that it was one of his many dreams he'd had about the angel, but it felt too real. That’s when he kissed back, long eyelashes brushing his skin as his eyelids fluttered shut, his own hands hesitantly coming to rest on Cas’ hips. The angel kissed him roughly, pushing his tongue past Dean’s plush lips. Neither of them pulled away until they ran out of breath. Dean’s lips were still parted slightly. 

“What the hell was that?” Dean practically whispered, a bewildered expression on his face.

“Isn’t that what people who are in love do?” Cas asked, not because he didn’t know, but just to be a smart-ass. 

The hunter’s look of bewilderment changed, a smile blossoming on his lips. 

“This changes nothing.” He spoke, brushing past the angel as he walked back to the bonfire. 

*******

Gabriel had rejoined Sam, following him to the cabin that the four of them were assigned for the time being. Once there, Gabe had Sam retell the story of how he was resurrected.

“So he resurrected you because he needed you to tell him where Jack was?” Gabe inquired, and he nodded in response. The angel was actually seated beside Sam on the bed, cleaning his face and neck of the dried blood like a mother hen. 

“Yeah— I mean, Jack must be pretty important to him, er, his plans.” Sam sighed, rubbing his forehead on his jacket sleeve. “Things are a lot more complicated than they used to be. I miss the days when we used to hunt Wendigos— thought I would never say that in my life.” 

Gabe chuckled when he heard that last part.

“And tricksters, too—that was fun.” The angel added to be dramatic. 

“You did almost kill me. Sending Jason after me? What a laugh.” Sam rolled his eyes. 

“Aww, c’mon Samshine, I wasn’t going to go through with it.” 

“Sure.” Sam shook his head. “I still don’t know that I trust you that much. You only came back to us because you needed your ass saved.” 

“Hey—” Gabriel’s brows furrowed. “I came back for other reasons.”

“Those reasons being? Sam questioned.

Because I’m falling in love with you, Sam Winchester. 

“Those reasons being that I needed your help, and because I kind of owed you one for taking care of me after all that shit that went down with Colonel Sanders.” He spoke nonchalantly. Lying came easily to him after all this time. 

“Ah, I see. I don’t believe I ever did get a thank you for that, actually.”

“Oh, don’t get a big moose head to match your big-ass moose body.” Gabe huffed, glancing away, then looking over to him once more. “In all seriousness, I am really thankful that you took care of me. I don’t think I’ve ever been that—weak in my life.” 

Sam’s expression softened as he heard that. He never expected a ‘thank you’ from Gabe. Not in his lifetime. The archangel was getting lost in those hazel eyes once more, his heart rate increasing. 

Why did I have sex with Rowena? I should have been looking for this all along—and Sam just had to walk in on us.

Gabe looked away. He remembered getting caught with his pants down, and the angel couldn’t get Sam’s expression out of his head. The look of horror— if he had any prejudice against sleeping with Gabe before— that must have really cemented it. He always talked about pornstars a lot around Sam. That was mainly because his indirect flirting always got him nowhere. He used to see Sam as a tall, hottie, one-night-stand during his days as the trickster, but since he’d gotten back, his feelings developed into so much more than that. He couldn’t tell Sam now. His throat felt dry all of the sudden. 

“You’re welcome. I mean, it was hard to see you like that. You’re usually a prideful dick— and then to see you all bloodied and buried deep inside your mind like that was sad. I wasn’t sure what I would do without you insulting me.” Sam teased a little, trying to lighten the mood. 

“I only insult you because I like you, lumberjack.” He corrected.

“Oh really? Do you tell all of your lumberjacks that?” Sam played along, wanting to see what the answer would be. 

“No, just the ones that like to push my buttons. You two are my favorite lumberjacks.”

“Such an honor,” Sam spoke, then continued after a small pause. “You know— back there in the cave when you were trying to keep me from bleeding out, you said that you swore you would protect me. What were you talking about?”  
Gabe shifted uncomfortably as he sat there, trying to figure out how to explain that. 

“I uh, made this personal vow to protect you while we were here. It’s dumb— it was just a way to try and repay you for what you did for me. I know it wouldn't have come close to making up for it, but it doesn't matter anymore—because I couldn’t even do that.” His tone grew bitter towards the end. 

“Hey— hey.” Sam’s tone was soft. “It’s not your fault. You killed the vampire trying to save me. You didn’t know I would die.” He placed a large hand over Gabe’s where it rested on the bed, which caused Gabe’s cheeks to grow warm. He couldn’t help but look away. He was trying to hide the blush. 

“I just can’t help but feel like I could have done more. I was too busy cracking smart-ass remarks—I could have had time to save you, Sammy.” Gabe spoke, using a nickname that he'd only heard Dean call him. 

“Wait—what did you call me?”

“Sammy?” Gabe mumbled quietly, afraid Sam would hate it.

“Only Dean calls me that,” was all Sam could think to say in reply.

“I’m sorry—I won’t do it again.” The angel apologized, looking down.

That was when Sam blushed. 

“N..no, I mean, it’s fine— I’m just not used to anyone calling me by that name but Dean and my dad.”

The archangel fidgeted with his thumb with one hand, his other trapped beneath Sam’s giant moose hand. He wanted more than anything to say those three words to Sam, but it was harder than he could have ever imagined. The words felt like a stubborn popcorn kernel stuck to the back of his throat. They were so close— but he ultimately had to swallow them back down because he was too afraid to reach that far in and pluck them out. 

“Sam, I need to tell you something—” He started, feeling like he might just vomit or explode from his corporeal form— or both. 

“What is it, Gabe?” Sam asked, attentive.

There it was. The lean. Sam leaned in and gave a small head tilt. His cologne mixed with his sweat was creating an intoxicating aroma that normally would have been nauseating to the average angel. Angels weren't used to the smell of humans, even if they had been in their vessels for a long time, so Gabriel knew this had to be something else. Sam had stripped his jacket off, leaving him with the grey v-neck he'd been wearing, drenched with sweat. Gabriel could even see a bead of sweat rolling down his neck and onto his chest. Not to mention, he was getting lost in those damn sunflower eyes again. 

“I— I’m glad that I came back to the bunker. As far as roommates go, you guys aren't that bad.” 

No, that’s not it. Tell him.

“Oh really? That— honestly is really nice coming from you.” Sam smiled, though he looked a little disappointed, himself. 

‘That’s it? It seemed really important, like something from the other night. Was he just joking when he called out my spooning boner? I think I’m starting to like him. Like /really/ like him. Look at him. He’s practically a ray of sunshine with those golden curly locks of his and his whiskey colored eyes. The way he’s looking at me and the way he cares for me is almost telling— but why won’t he tell me?’ Sam thought to himself as he watched the angel before him. 

“Yeah, you’re welcome.” Gabe smiled, trying not to be the most awkward angel in the universe as he slid off of the bed, taking his hand back. “I uh—I should go.”

“Yeah— I’ll see you tonight, Gabe. Thanks for killing that vamp.” 

Way to go, Sam. Back to the awkward teens again. Gabriel was the only one that could do that to him.

With that, the archangel hurried out of the cabin. Of course they all had to room in the same cabin together. It was going to be tight too— two to a bed. Little did he know, it would become a complicated matter later on. 

********

Later that night when they all met back up at the cabin, the four of them were all seated on beds talking like teenage girls at a slumber party—except for the fact that they were crowded around a lantern drinking whiskey out of a communal bottle. That, and they were talking about the apocalypse instead of sharing secrets.

“I think we should all turn in. Big day tomorrow.” Dean spoke, taking the lead as he climbed into the bed on the right. Cas nodded and did the same—taking the bed on the right as well, which caused Gabriel’s eyebrow to shoot up. 

“Woah, woah, wait a damn minute. I had dibs on my brother.” Gabe frowned.

“Well, we just thought it would be better to do it this way because Sam is so much taller.” Cas lied, having formulated his own plan to get closer to the eldest hunter now that he'd admitted his true feelings. 

“Ah—gotcha. So you stick a moose and corgi in a bed together?” Gabriel pointed out, earning a chuckle from Dean. 

“Morgi. Coose. It’s cute. Sammy is a snuggler, but something tells me you knew that already.” Dean assumed, which caused Gabe to spew the whiskey he'd sipped just recently out of his mouth, his nose burning. 

“Fuck off.” Gabe swore at him and watched as Sam crawled into bed. 

“C’mon, I won’t bite.” Sam teased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a lot of fun to write! Angst and more fluff await you all next chapter! Hope you all will hang in there with me! Feel free to leave comments or kudos, they are always appreciated. I also love suggestions and take them into consideration, so I would love your feedback. :)


	4. Poison and Wine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year! Have a very feelsy chapter of "Cherry" to start off your new year!

“You won’t bite? That’s reassuring.” Gabe grumbled a little as he eased into bed next to Sam. 

“Oh, c’mon, now I’m offended. Am I not a good cuddler?” Sam pouted, the liquid courage flowing freely out of him through his words. 

“It’s not that—” 

“Just c’mere.” 

Sam pulled Gabe close, nuzzling his face into Gabriel’s hair, taking in a deep breath. He could smell Gabe’s cologne. It was composed of bergamot, lime, saffron, and a hint of rose at the end. Sweet notes were the most obvious to Sam when he smelled him, which wasn’t a shocker. The real joke was that Sam was only acting drunk to get close to the angel. The archangel didn’t dare move from the position where he was, mainly because Sam was holding him and he liked it—a lot. Sam’s mouth was dangerously close to Gabriel’s ear, especially noticeable when he let out a soft chuckle. He sent a warm breath against Gabe, sending chills down the angel’s spine. Gabriel actually brought his hand up, running his fingers through Sam’s hair once he started to hear Dean snoring. He didn’t want anymore unwarranted teasing over his crush. 

“Mmmh—” Sam hummed, letting Gabe know he liked his hair played with. 

Gabriel smiled a little to himself, caressing that soft mahogany hair of Sam’s until he heard soft snores coming from the other male. In his sleep, the hunter actually wrapped his arm possessively around Gabriel, fingertips resting against his side where the skin was slightly exposed. 

‘Oh, I’m in trouble.’ Gabe internally chuckled out of irony. 

On the opposite side of the bed, things weren't going as well for Cas as he'd initially hoped. He tried to cuddle with Dean, but Dean had just rolled right over on his side toward the wall of the cabin. He was playing hard to get, that was for sure. He’d also had probably half of the bottle of whiskey too, which put him to sleep like a baby. 

*******

That night, Gabe had a dream— a beautiful dream about he and Sam’s relationship. He was in the kitchen in his boxers cooking some delicious chocolate chip pancakes for himself— blueberry for the health nut half of the relationship. While he was standing there in his weed boxers, he felt a pair of familiar strong arms wrap around him from behind, a nose pressing against his hair from the back. 

“Mmm— those smell delicious. You’re such a good cook.” Sam mused, pressing a kiss to the back of his head.   
“Thank you so much, Samshine. I’m better at baking, but I’m glad you think so.”

“How’s our baby girl doing?” Sam mused softly and Gabe raised an eyebrow, stealing a glance at his flat stomach. He wasn’t— pregnant? 

“Wait what?” 

“Roslyn, our baby girl? How did she sleep through the night?” Sam asked and he was still confused.

“Wait— I'm not— you didn’t knock me up, did you? The angel accused, an angry glare on his face.

“No! No.” Laughing, the tall male shook his tousled head of hair. “Our baby girl that we adopted. We saved her on a demon job. We couldn’t save her parents. Roslyn, y’know? I really must have done a number on you last night.” 

“Oh, right.” He was a mixture of relieved and happy that he wasn’t in fact— pregnant. The angel just simply laughed it off, going with the flow. “She did great, as always.” 

“Sometimes I think we should just stop hunting altogether. Dean and Cas have got it covered—we could settle down and raise Roslyn together. So what do you think? You are my husband, after all. You’ve got just as big of a say as I do in what choice we make regarding hunting.” Sam murmured into his ear, then gently spun him around, craning his neck down to meet Gabriel’s lips in a heated and passionate kiss. He picked Gabe up in his arms, putting his hands under Gabe’s thighs as they had a make-out session in the kitchen of the bunker.

Before Gabriel even had time to think about Sam being his husband—or that hot make-out session in the kitchen, he woke up. He was rock hard, which was embarrassing because Sam was still pressed up against him like he was the night before. The hunter was sprawled across the whole bed, his legs on either side of Gabriel, so they were both pressed against each other in a way he hadn't anticipated. Before he could think of a way to get out from under Sam, the taller male’s breathing hitched, a yawn escaping his lips right into Gabe’s ear. His eyelids fluttered open and he smiled as he smelled Gabe’s familiar scent. He was confused for a moment, then he felt Gabe’s morning wood pressed against him. Oh- hello. He actually dared to nuzzle Gabe’s cheekbone. Blame it on the tiredness. 

‘Oh, I had no idea it was you’ was a good excuse. 

“Morning Gabriel.” he murmured softly as he raised his shaggy-haired head up from where it had been resting on Gabe’s shoulder all night. 

“Morning Samshine,” Gabe smiled a little. It was really nice. He could at least enjoy the moment while it lasted, right? 

He expected Sam to raise up and get started with his morning routine, but the hunter just laid there in that spot, not moving from where he'd woken up. He honestly just wanted to take Gabe’s visage in just a moment longer. There was a sliver of sunlight that had snuck in through the cabin window, falling right around Gabriel’s head, giving him a halo of light. 

‘That’s fitting’, he thought to himself, a small smile creeping onto his lips. 

He could get used to seeing Gabriel’s bedhead too. The messy curls were all over, splayed out on the pillow as well as his shoulders. 

“Did you ever have long hair like your statues depict?” Sam asked, being nerdy for a moment. 

“I used to have pretty long hair, yeah. We didn’t exactly have fucking angelic barbers, Sam.” Gabe chuckled and Sam snorted, covering his mouth so they wouldn't wake Dean and Cas.

The angel suddenly got more serious as he looked at Sam. Seeing the human before him, he was reminded of the impermanence of mortality. He could've lost Sam forever if it wasn’t for his brother, and he wondered if Lucifer actually sensed his crush on Sam. Of course that would have been a long shot to imagine. His heart was fluttering as he stared at the tanned, blissfully unaware— or so he thought— hunter in front of him. 

“Sam—I thought I lost you. That was so scary—” He admitted and Sam did his little head tilt again. “No bullshit— I don’t know how I would’ve handled that. You’re one of my closest friends.”

Sam was really surprised to hear that, actually. 

“You really think of me as a close friend? I mean— I’ve always tried to stick up for you, but I think it’s because deep down I’ve always known that you don’t want to hurt us. I mean, you fucked with our heads, but the only time you tried to actually kill us was when we came after you. It was defense,” Sam started, but he didn’t want to get ahead of himself. “Don’t get me wrong, what you did to me concerning Dean was bullshit. It wasn’t a lesson—it was torture. You should know by now that we will always sacrifice ourselves for each other.”

The angel actually felt a tightness in his chest as Sam brought that up. 

“I have no excuse for that. You’re right—it was the wrong way to go about it.” He apologized, at least tried to. 

“C’mon, we should get up. We’ve got to go find Mom.” Sam completely shut himself off from Gabriel because he'd opened old wounds, moving off of Gabe only to be met with the angel’s awkward boner. The angel attempted to cover up and save his dignity, but it was useless.  
“Gabe, what the hell?” Sam didn’t mean to say it, but he'd been emotionally charged from just thinking about what Gabriel did to him. Even though it was years ago, it still hurt a lot.

“Sam, get the fuck off of me.” Gabriel growled, shutting himself off too once more. 

The angel immediately got up, leaving the cabin, slamming the door. That woke up Dean and Cas as well, the two questioning what was going on. Sam saw how upset that he'd made Gabriel and he immediately regretted what he’d said. He was just confused for the moment on how he felt inside. Did he love Gabe? Did he hate him? He was pretty sure he was leaning toward the love side of the spectrum. 

Meanwhile, Lucifer had been standing by the fire when Gabriel slammed the door shut. Seeing his brother, Gabe reluctantly walked over to him. 

“What was that all about? Trouble in paradise?” Lucifer teased a little. He couldn’t help but get jabs in because his brother was working with them. Humans. 

“I don’t really want to talk about it.” Gabe managed out, crossing his arms as he looked at the fire before them.

Lu looked down and noticed the obvious situation at hand, his mouth forming into an ‘o’. 

“Damn, that’s unfortunate. That’s awkward when you’re sharing the bed with someone.” Lu spoke and he noticed Gabe’s countenance, a grin creeping onto his lips. “Wait a second— are you attracted to one of them?” 

Gabe stayed silent for two seconds too long before responding.

“No.”

“Oh man, you totally do. Which one? Hope it’s not Cas cause um— that would be a weird one to explain.” Lu said, then remembered something juicy. “I saw your brother tonguing Dean behind the wood-shack yesterday, so that must totally burst your bubble.” 

The youngest angel’s expression didn’t change as he attempted to give nothing off. It was useless, however, because Lucifer had always been able to read him like a book.

“No. No. You can’t be serious right now. That’s why you were all over him when he got back to camp, hm? I saved your boyfriend, didn't I? That means you owe me one, bro.” Lu boasted.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Gabriel practically hissed out, trying to be quiet so no one else could hear.

“He’s not?” Lu asked innocently before he leaned in, gripping Gabriel’s shoulder, sure to leave a bruise. “Well make sure it stays that way. He’s my fucking vessel. That makes him mine.” He growled into Gabe’s ear, the younger archangel yanking his shoulder away. 

“Last time I checked, I can do whatever or whoever the fuck I want to..” He countered.

“See, thats where you’re wrong, little bro. I may be acting nice and playing nice around the humans for right now, but I’m stronger than them. Stronger than even you. All I'm saying is that you need to respect me and respect what is mine.” Lu threatened him. 

“Good luck with that.” The younger brother shook his head, walking away from Lucifer with intent to take a walk in order to clear his head. 

Sam had finally come to his senses, hurrying out of the cabin that they'd been staying in. He saw Lucifer standing nearby and walked over, assuming that Gabe had spoken to him or maybe that Lucifer had seen him since he'd stormed out of the cabin. 

“Lucifer, have you seen Gabe?” Sam asked and Lu feigned ignorance. 

“I don’t know— he ran out of the cabin saying something about being done with you guys and walked away from the camp. Guess you finally pissed him off enough to break him.” Lu shrugged and Sam gave him a glare before he followed the path that Lucifer told him that Gabriel took. He searched for a while, calling out Gabriel’s name in the forest, afraid that maybe something had happened to him. 

When Gabriel woke, all he could see was darkness for a moment, thinking that all of it had been a dream and he was back in Asmodeus’ torture chamber. However, it was too dark. He tried to move his hands, finding that his hands and feet had been shackled, his head aching. 

“So, did you have a nice nap, brother?” The voice called out and Gabe’s eyes widened even in the dark. He knew who it was. 

_Oh shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed this chapter addition to "Cherry". Inspiration for this work came from the song "Cherry" by Lana Del Rey. Be sure to let me know what you think! I'd love to hear questions, comments, and concerns. Kudos are always welcome. Have a nice week!


	5. He Deserves So Much More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little bonus- a chapter a few days early- because of all of the love I've been recieving for this story. I love each and every one of you readers.

“I suppose you didn’t expect to see me, then—“ Michael chuckled eerily as he stood there before Gabriel, hands clasped behind his back.

“To say that I’m surprised would be quite an understatement. You’re not my _real_ brother, however, so I’m not about to pander to you.” Gabe retorted, rolling his eyes. His sassy quip was met with a combat boot to the face. His head was spinning as he turned to the side and spit out what blood had pooled in his mouth. 

“Vice versa, faux Gabriel. You know, did you ever wonder why you haven't seen your equally annoying self in this world yet? No?” Michael countered, not waiting for an answer. “It’s because I cut out his tongue right before I executed him. He was just as corrupt as Lucifer— and I’m expecting to find your ragged and sinful self to be just the same. That is, unless the man you’re defiling yourself for made any difference in your life.” 

It took Gabriel a moment to realize he was talking about Sam. In apocalypse world, neither Sam nor Dean had been alive to save the world—which is why the world had fallen into chaos. A sense of pride soared in his heart knowing that the man he cared about was part of the reason that the world was still around. That was something he had always admired about Sam. Sam always found the positive point in life, even in the darkest of situations. 

Gabriel’s brows furrowed when he thought about the second half of what Michael said.

“Defiled myself? What the hell are you talking about? Unless you count attempting saving a human to be defiling myself, I don't know what you're referring to.” Gabe countered.

“Angel spies saw you take quarters with Sam and Dean— and your brother Castiel.” Michael spoke and Gabriel tilted his head to the side, jaw dropping to let out a dry laugh. 

“What? Do you think we had a foursome or something? We slept, Michael. On second thought, you’ve always have been the biggest feathered dick of all. You know what they say about assuming.” The youngest archangel laughed and was met with Michael leaning down to grab his chin forcefully, an angry expression on his face.

Looking down into Gabriel’s whiskey colored eyes, Michael concentrated, both of their eyes glowing. Michael’s were a white-hot bluish white color, while Gabriel’s eyes were a brilliant golden-white color. 

Angels could always see desires— things that perhaps the person didn’t even want to admit outwardly. In Gabriel’s head, he delved into the section of desire that had to do with other individuals. In a “perfect” angel, one’s desire would involve their father and the humans— but only to the degree of servitude. Nothing more and nothing less. In Gabriel’s mind, he saw a picture start to unravel. It was like a personal vacation into the mind of Gabriel the Archangel. 

_Sam’s hair was a mixture of chestnut with caramel highlights. His hazel eyes were dabbled with a pattern that made it look like there were sunflower petals around his pupil, and the way he looked at Gabriel made him believe he was worth it. Worth loving._

His smile lit up the whole world, warm and inviting as he laughed—something no one had seen recently until Gabriel came along. He wanted to kiss those lips. Gabriel wanted to do so much more. One night stands had always come so easy to him, so it was hard for him to understand why he couldn’t pluck up the courage to ask Sam for something like that. The problem with that was that a one night stand was too cheap for Sam— he deserved so much more, and Gabriel didn’t think he would settle for less. Reaching out to him, he felt a strangely light feeling, the youngest hunter taking Gabriel’s hand in his larger one, Sam’s other hand coming to rest on the archangel’s cheek. A thumb casually brushed over his cheekbone as he gave Gabriel a warm smile, his eyes searching the angel’s. That’s when Gabriel did it. He tiptoed up and kissed those soft lips, locking his own with the hunter’s. It felt so freeing until it all came crashing down on him. 

Michael’s voice broke him out of the trance. 

“I knew it was true. The spies saw you staying close to him in particular. You’re laying with him— among your other detestable sins.” The older archangel sneered and backhanded him. “You know the punishment for such crimes. If you join us, perhaps I will forget about this whole affair. We chalk it up to a misunderstanding.”

“It _is_ a misunderstanding!” Gabriel tried to explain. 

“We’ll find Sam and ask him what he thinks.” Michael added, before knocking Gabriel out cold with a hard punch to the face that knocked his entire head back.

*******

Sam jogged back into camp, worry etched onto his face as he looked around at everyone, searching. 

“Has anyone seen Gabriel?” He asked, voice deep and husky like it was when he meant business.

Lucifer acted like he'd done nothing wrong, not even meeting the hunter’s eyes, but that didn’t stop Sam from pushing him up against the nearest tree. 

“What have you done?” Sam questioned, holding him by his jacket collar.

“I didn’t do anything, Sam.” Lucifer defended himself.

Directly, he had nothing to do with it, but he was the one who put doubt into Gabriel’s mind, sending him off into the woods to get some air. He wasn’t about to admit to that, however. He wanted Sam for himself, so getting the blond trickster out of the way would help his cause. 

“He’s my baby brother, Sam. I care about him too.” Lucifer pointed out, putting his best concerned expression on. “Look, I’m here for you. I brought you back to life. I know what I’m doing.”

That was the wrong thing to say to Sam. He was pissed. Raising his fist, he was ready to punch him in the face.

“I don’t care what you did for me— it was for personal gain. And don’t you dare think for a second that I’ve forgotten what you did to me in that cage.” Sam almost shouted, prompting Dean to hurry over.

Dean grabbed Sam by the back of his tan jacket, pulling him back and off of Lucifer.

“What’s going on? Is it the angels?” Dean asked, his brow furrowed. 

“No, it’s _his_ angel, Deano. My little bro ran off into the woods and he didn’t come back.” Lucifer clarified, rolling his eyes so Sam wouldn't see. 

“We’ll send a search party then.” Castiel suggested, having walked up when he heard the commotion. “That can’t hurt anything.”

“Cas, we don't have time. We have limited time— forty eight hours if we’re lucky, probably a lot less now.” Dean huffed and shook his head. “We can’t waste time looking for Feathers.”

Sam shot Dean a hurt look, turning toward the cabin. He hurried to pack a bag, slinging it over his shoulder with haste.

“What are you doing?” Dean asked, a quizzical look on his face.

“I’m going to look for Gabe.” Sam answered in a monotone. 

“Are you crazy?” 

“Mom hasn't been there for me— Gabe has.” Sam answered cooly and started to stomp off when Dean grabbed him by the shoulder. 

“Sam! What gives you the right to say shit like that? She was there for us. She—“

“You, Dean. She was there for you. Now that she's back, she's here for none of us.” Sam shrugged off Dean’s hand. “You’d do the same damn thing for Castiel. So _back off_.”

_That was what he'd said three days ago._

When Sam woke up, he was chained to the wall of a dark— cabin, was it? He wasn’t sure where he was, but it was extremely hard to make out what anything was made out of because it was pitch black inside. He could definitely feel the wood flooring underneath his cheek as he laid there on the floor, reaching around as he sat up. Looking up, he noticed a bit of light streaming in from the bars on the window. It was almost sunrise, he supposed. Maybe sunset. 

A creak of a door made his heartbeat speed up. It wasn’t his door, it sounded further away. 

He could hear the muffled sound of talking down the hall. It sounded like arguing. After a few minutes, he heard the sound of a hard punch, then a voice that was all too familiar rang out. 

“Fuck you, Michael!” Gabriel cried out from his holding cell. 

He was taking a pretty severe beating— one of the angels had been instructed personally by Michael to break him. They were hoping that because reason hadn't worked on him, maybe violence would. He wanted to revert back to his time under Asmodeus, but he held onto that image of Sam in the back of his mind. 

_”Gabriel, I need you.”_

__That was playing on a loop in his head, punch after punch, kick after kick. He was barely conscious, the ringing in his ears becoming more severe after every uppercut and right hook to his jaw. Michael hadn't come in to torture him personally. No, that was too brutal for him. The older archangel liked to pretend that he lived under a set of morals—at least that’s how the other Michael had been back on the normal universe. He pretended that he was daddy’s good little solider, only sent to show the world the right way. Every human he came to, however, he found to be unworthy in his eyes, so he started the angel war in apocalypse world. With no Sam and Dean to stop him, he was immeasurably powerful, killing other angels and taking their power._ _

___”Sam _!” The same voice rang out, raspy from screaming as the angel standing in front of Gabriel dug an angel blade into his shoulder.__ _ _

____Sam’s blood ran cold._ _ _ _

____*******_ _ _ _

____At camp, as the sun set on the first day of Sam having gone, an uneasy feeling settled in Dean’s chest. He should have been back by now, or should he? He had no idea where they were— and Sam had no means of finding his way back. Perhaps he had a compass. Dean packed up his things in a duffle bag, the glow of a lantern illuminating the dark cabin room. Cas noticed his worry and slipped a hand onto Dean’s upper arm._ _ _ _

____“Is it Sam?” He simply asked._ _ _ _

____“Yeah— he’s my brother. I shouldn't have let him go off like that by himself.” Dean’s normally gruff voice was softer, laced with worry._ _ _ _

____“I understand. Gabriel is something akin to my brother. Forgive me if I am overstepping here, but perhaps we should follow Sam. I know picking between your mother and brother shouldn’t be an option, but her existence—it is unnatural. She doesn’t know how to cope with the modern world.” Cas was afraid that Dean would lash out._ _ _ _

____“I understand.” Dean replied softly, which is what shocked the angel the most. “She made a choice, and she wouldn't want more people to die in a rescue mission for her.”_ _ _ _

____Cas’ eyes flickered up to meet Dean’s._ _ _ _

____“No matter what choice you make, I am with you a hundred percent.” Cas reminded him._ _ _ _

____“I know, Cas. You always are.”_ _ _ _

____In the glow of the lantern, Cas gave a bittersweet smile, a silence filling the room because of their unresolved tension from the night before._ _ _ _

____“You are always going to make me fly after you, aren't you?” The angel teased a little._ _ _ _

____“That’s how a hunter’s life goes.” Dean spoke and turned to leave._ _ _ _

____He knew that he couldn’t give Castiel a life of guarantees. Hell, there was no guarantee of living from day to day, and he didn’t want to see his angel’s smile fade because of him. The hunting consumed his life._ _ _ _

____“I’m coming with you.” Cas replied, his mind made up as he followed him into the dark forest._ _ _ _

____In reality, the angel would have followed Dean into death—and he had before. He’d pulled his hunter out of perdition long before he'd developed feelings for him. At first, it was beneficial to the world to keep Dean in it. Now it was beneficial to Cas. No matter how selfish that seemed, the angel would have given up everything—even his place in heaven for Dean. He felt like the only person who knew Dean better than he did was Sam, and that would never change. He not only wanted to be the third member of Team Free Will, he wanted to be to Dean what the hunter was to him. With Dean, it was so hard to tell, especially since he kept pushing away even after the kiss. Castiel was getting the wrong message. He thought that Dean didn’t want to be with him like that, but if he didn’t, why did he kiss back like that? Human feelings were hard to grasp, even years after he'd come to earth._ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you loved this chapter, even though it probably broke your heart. Stick with me through the next one and I promise a lot of fluff at the end. As always, thank you for your comments and kudos are always appreciated. I LOVE YOU ALL.


	6. Maybe Someday, I'll Fly Next to You

After a few days, Sam and Gabe were both broken physically and mentally. Michael had spent extra time on breaking his archangel brother. After what felt like an eternity, Michael came into Gabriel’s cell and he announced a last offer. 

“If you denounce Sam now, your wings and title of archangel will be spared. Eventually you can work your way back up the chain of command here.” Michael offered, giving a grin to his brother. “Not to mention, your life will be spared.” 

“What happens to Sam?” Gabe managed to get out, his speech slurred slightly because of his swollen lip. 

“He’s executed for attempted seduction of an angel. He’s no better than Lucifer. We will consider your mistake as a momentary lapse of judgement.” Michael answered, knowing that answer wouldn’t appeal to Gabriel. 

“You know I can’t do that,” Gabe fired back without hesitation. He didn’t need a moment to think, because he’d made up his mind. “I love him.” 

It was the first time he’d actually admitted out loud that he loved Sam, but it had been so freeing. It felt so right. 

“You know, Lucifer always talks about the humans being the flawed abortions, but the only one I see here is you. You are defiled, having stooped down to the level of humans because you couldn’t keep your celibacy vow. That’s why Father kept making more angels after you. He knew if they ended up like you, he’d have to wipe us clean and start over. I expect this kind of thing from the younger angels, but from an archangel? You want to be with a human so badly? Join them.” Laughing bitterly as he stepped back, he motioned for two other angels in command to come to Gabriel. One was Balthazar, the other was Castiel. Even though they were from the apocalypse world, their betrayal hurt no less. 

Manacles with Enochian carved into them held his wrists in place, shackles keeping him from running away like he would have. He didn’t have enough of a chain to stand up, so he stayed in a kneeling position. Balthazar walked in, getting behind him on one side, Cas on the other. 

“You should have listened, brother,” Bal spoke softly, almost in a monotone sadness. 

“If you would have only listened to Michael and denounced that human, you would not have to go through this unspeakable pain.” Cas added. 

“Can we just skip the fuckin’ foreplay guys? I’m already-“ Gabe was cut off by Balthazar yanking at and breaking a few bones in the bottom left set of his wings, a cry of pain escaping his lips. The gorgeous set of three golden wings would be beautiful no more.

“We have to break them, then strip them from you. Michael’s instructions.” Bal clarified as he broke another bone in that same set, causing Gabe to grimace after letting out a howl of pain. “I didn’t want to do this. We have to— or he’ll kill us too.” 

Cas stayed mostly quiet as they went about the ritual. Gabe’s golden wings were stained with bright red blood, his cries reaching Sam in the cell in the other room. Sam pounded hard on the cell door. 

“Don’t you fucking touch him! I’ll kill you all! I don’t care if you’re angels. I don’t care who you are! If you hurt Gabe, I’ll end all of you!” Sam threatened, throwing his shoulder up against the steel door to no avail. 

Gabriel’s could see stars because he was clenching his eyes closed so tightly from the pain. The manacles cut angry red marks into his skin from where he was pulling so hard to get away. The echoes of his screaming reverberated off of the walls, his voice going hoarse as each and every one of his bones were broken in his wings. A mirror rested in front of him, per Michael’s request— to show him how dishonorable angels paid for their crimes. Again, it was a game of breaking internally first. It was working. He’d been triggered by his wings breaking, his heart pounding and his whole body shaking uncontrollably as he was thrown into a panic attack. He was shivering, tears flowing freely down his cheeks as they broke the wings at separate times to make it hurt more. He watched, his wings broken and drooping on his back. An angel blade glinted in Bal’s hands. 

“Bottom set first. Breathe.” Bal explained.

They both had a eerie calm to them. Castiel wasn’t saying much, so he couldn’t be read easily. He didn’t have much time to think before the angel blade seared down his back, a piece of him immediately feeling like it was missing as the bottom left wing parted from his back. Gabriel could faintly hear Sam crying out for him in the cell. The angel cried out loudly and screamed as he begged for mercy, from his father, from anyone. He screamed his lungs raw, the pain never-ending. Even after they’d cut the last section of his wings, the stinging and burn never ended. He was left chained to sit there, bleed out, and think about his so-called crimes. Left weeping, he was unable to pass out from the pain because of his grace. Grace could be a blessing and a curse at the same time. As he laid there on the musty floor of their temporary camp, he was just numb. He was broken yet again, finding it easy to regress into the deepest corners of his mind. 

It felt like an eternity passed before a whole flank of angels arrived. There were at least eight of them. He recognized Balthazar and Cas, but also Gadreel and Anna. It felt like apocalypse world was mocking him because all of the angels before him were angels that had at one time been under his care. Gadreel and Castiel were sent to hold him while the chains were removed. The manacles stayed in place because they were the only thing that would keep him from getting away. He didn’t dare look at any of them. Gabriel didn’t want to give them the satisfaction of seeing him in pain. As he was unchained, he tried to make a break for it, which Gadreel stopped because his vessel was built like a brick house. Both arms were held down by an angel on each side, and he was being carried— more like dragged— down the hall of the temporary encampment. When he was close to the other cell, he saw Sam’s hazel eyes through the small window with bars, his own eyes widening. 

“Sam!” He cried out as they stopped in front of the door. 

For Sam, the punishment wasn’t as bad— the only punishment he’d gotten was from trying to escape. He had a bloody lip and a bruise forming on his cheek. He wasn’t the one who let daddy’s militant leader down. When Sam saw Gabriel, his heart sank in his chest. They’d broken his angel.

“What did you do to him?!” He shouted loudly, a terrifyingly protective bark of a voice coming out of Sam. 

The angels unlocked his door, only to grab him too. Gabe’s heart hammered in his chest as he realized what Michael was intending for them— a lover’s execution. They dragged Sam kicking and protesting, taking four angels to restrain him. Once they got outside to the the post they’d be tied to, he stole what he thought might be a last glance of Sam, taking in those sunflower eyes one last time. He saw tears in Sam’s eyes and it broke his heart. No one was coming to get them. The angels were gruff, tying their wrists together on the back sides of the poles. They were right next to each other. Out of the corner of Gabe’s eye, he saw Michael approaching with a bowl of lamb’s blood—a sacrifice. Once he reached Gabriel, he shook his head. 

“I believed in you. You’re not my brother, and I wash my hands of this.” He denounced Gabriel, leaving him teary eyed and defenseless. 

He dipped his finger in the blood, then brought it up, inscribing Gabriel’s sins on his chest with small strokes of his index finger. The first word he wrote was ‘sodomite’, referring back to the wickedness of Sodom and Gomorrah. The next was ‘adulterer’, then ‘deceiver’. He stopped there, looking into Gabriel’s golden eyes. They were speckled with worry. 

“I could continue— but you don’t have enough skin for that.” Michael hissed and turned to Sam, giving him the same inscriptions on his chest with the lamb’s blood. 

After he’d finished, he cleaned his hands, then recited scriptures from ancient angel texts about how and why they were being executed. Gabe took that moment to talk. He could hear Sam sniffling a little. 

“Sammy?” Gabe called out softly to him and Sam felt that small voice cut straight to his heart. 

“Yeah?” 

“I know that now is a horrible time to tell you this but— I’ve been holding this in for an extremely long time. I just want you to know that I could’ve gotten myself out of this. I could’ve said that I denounced you— that you’d seduced me. I couldn’t— you know why?” Gabe felt his emotions getting the best of him, eyes glazing with tears that he attempted to blink away. 

Sam stayed quiet but he had a feeling he knew the answer anyway. 

“Because I love you. I’ve always had this ridiculous teenage girl crush on you and I’ve tried to push it down— and now we might only have a few seconds together, but I need you to know that.” Gabe’s voice broke as he said that. 

“Gabe..” Sam started, the emotion clear in his voice too. “I was falling too. My heart hasn’t been the same since we took that stupid case at the university. I kept giving you chance after chance and it’s because dammit— I love you.” He replied, which caused Gabe to smile through the tears, his expression heartbreaking. 

“I wish I’d known this sooner— could’ve taken you on a proper date. This one’s kind of shitty.” Gabriel joked softly, the both of them letting out a weak chuckle, almost choking from their tears. 

Michael finished up his speech and walked back over. 

“We come here on the sixteenth of June, in the year of our Lord, two thousand and eighteen. We are here today to execute two fugitives— Gabriel— the Archangel of the Lord, and Sam Winchester, the human hunter. We have found these two to be guilty of adultery, sodomy with one another, and countless other sins. Do you two have any last words before you are sent before the ultimate judge?” Michael recited as if he’d done it by heart a million times. 

“I don’t regret shit, and I hope you all burn in Hell.” Gabe spat. “That— and I love humanity. I love Sam. I love you, Sam.” His voice was softer as he glanced over at Sam, hand opening behind him shakily, wishing he could take Sam’s in his own. 

“I—I love you Gabriel.” Sam stammered, heart practically beating out of his chest. 

The next few moments seemed to go by in slow motion. The boots of the angels echoed against the hard ground as they walked toward Sam first, unchaining him from the pole and dragging him to where he was made to kneel. He was facing Gabriel. That part was meant to be the final breaking point for Gabriel— mind, body, and soul. With nephilim, it was the same. Executions of nephilim children were done with the parent angel holding them. Watching Sam die— knowing that he'd failed Sam would be a fate worse than death. Apocalypse Castiel took two steps forward, staying behind Sam so that Gabriel would have a full view of the execution. The archangel took those few moments to look into Sam’s eyes. 

‘It’s going to be okay.’ Gabe mouthed softly, seeing tears glazing over Sam’s eyes.

As Castiel placed his hands onto either side of Sam’s head, he saw a blinding flash of light. Gabriel closed his eyes and he heard the metal of chains combined with an animalistic cry of pain— of loss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger guys! I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out whether Sammy lives or dies-- I know I'm evil for that. Thank you all for reading! You're all the best and comments and kudos are always appreciated! Also, listen to "O" by Coldplay and think about this fic if you want to cry a lil. ;)


	7. A Thousand Angel Armies

The flash of light was a heavenly beam— Gabriel’s grace shining through as new wings sprang from the torn flesh. The chains holding him had broken and melted onto the ground still glowing a fiery red, his golden eyes shining white-hot with the rage of a thousand angel armies. His expression could have—and would have killed— as Apocalypse Castiel’s ocean blue eyes widened in fear. Dean had arrived at the scene with real Castiel, the pair of them in complete shock as they saw what Gabriel became. Dean had to cover his eyes because of the holy light shining through Gabriel. The archangel snapped his fingers of one hand, smiting the other world’s Castiel easily. That wasn’t his real brother, after all. Once that was done, he turned to Michael, ready to toast his ass. His brother quickly snapped and disappeared from the scene like a coward. Sam was still kneeling, his chest heaving, eyes wide. 

“Sam!” Gabe called out, snapping out of his episode, his eyes flickering back to normal as he rushed to him. 

Wrapping his arms around Sam, he all but tackled Sam to the ground, freely sobbing into his shoulder. He didn’t care who saw— he almost lost Sam— his everything. That was when he pulled away to look at him.

“Gabriel, how—” Sam started, but he was cut off as Gabriel grabbed his face in both hands, pulling him in for a rough kiss.

He still felt electrified from the power surge, so he was putting the adrenaline to good use. Both hands rested on either side of Sam’s cheeks, but one hand traveled to the back of his head, weaving his fingers into Sam’s shaggy hair. Sam was surprised at first, but he kissed him back immediately, realizing how close they had both come to facing death. Their eyes were both closed, Gabriel’s new set of golden wings wrapping around Sam protectively as they kissed. Sam’s hands traveled to Gabriel’s sides, his thumbs caressing the skin he'd been dying to touch the entire time they’d been in Apocalypse world. 

“Ahem—” Dean coughed awkwardly, interrupting their moment. 

Sam pulled away, a pink blush spreading across his cheeks, making his freckles more evident. Tears stained his cheeks, Gabriel and Sam only separating so Sam could hug his brother. Dean clapped Sam’s shoulder, hugging him as tightly like he had when Sam came back from Hell. He didn’t know what he would do if he lost Sam again. That would be the worst feeling in the entire world. Not even his own death would crush him as much as losing his brother. Meanwhile, Gabriel stood up to hug Castiel, the younger angel feeling himself getting emotional too. The archangel had practically raised Cas when he was just a fledgling, teaching him everything he knew. 

Once everyone had parted from their hugs, Dean was the first to speak. 

“It’s good to have you both back.” Dean started. 

“What about mom?” Sam asked, his brow furrowed. 

“If she wants to come back, she’ll find a way— we always have. She’s a Winchester.” He spoke, though part of him still wanted to get her. 

“We still have time.” The youngest hunter spoke, still covered in lamb’s blood. 

“You were my number one priority. I uh— I realized that my priorities are a bit different now. Such as—” Dean started, pulling Cas to his side and wrapping an arm around his shoulder. “I love this angel. I didn’t want to admit it because I was afraid I might lose him. Now that I know how we both feel, I’m making it official. No ring yet— maybe a ring pop when we get back.” Dean joked.

Everyone let out a soft chuckle at his words, Sam smiling warmly at him. 

“Well, once the people we love are of immediate danger, then we’ll crack open some bubbly.” Sam proposed and Gabe nodded.

“I’d die for some tequila right now.” Gabe groaned softly. 

“Easy there, tiger.” Sam grinned and put an arm around Gabriel’s bare shoulder.

They started their journey toward where they believed Mary and Jack to be, hoping that there would be enough time to save everyone, especially since Lucifer had broken free and hopped into the portal as well. On the walk there, Sam looked over at Gabriel’s large wings, admiring them. He couldn’t help but stare. They were the color of a golden sunset, and they almost dragged the ground when he walked. The archangel had to hold them up a little when he walked, or they would have touched the ground. The were easily retractable. The main thing that Sam was curious about testing out was whether they were as soft as they seemed. He bit his lip, glancing down to Gabriel, who still looked smug from his rescue mission earlier.

“Gabe?” Sam’s voice was soft as he spoke.

“Yeah, Samsquatch? 

“Can I touch them?” He inquired, his voice so low that no one else could hear. 

“Yeah. I mean, why not?” Gabe shrugged, although no one but he himself had ever touched his wings. 

The hunter extended his hand out, gently brushing his fingertips over the top part of the wings— the downy and fluffy part. His lips parted as he gently rubbed the wing in one direction, as if he were petting a cat. Gabriel felt a shiver run down his spine as Sam touched him like that. It felt so intimate for just a wing touch. 

“Mm.” Gabe hummed softly as Sam touched his wing.   
Sam took his hand away immediately. “Oh, I’m sorry.” 

“No, no. It feels good. Don’t be afraid. It’s just like hair, but a little more— sensitive.” Gabriel explained to him, his cheeks a little pink. He was trying to hide that from Sam.

At the front of the pack, Cas was walking alongside Dean, a bit of a pep in his step as he walked. Dean had told them that Cas was _his_ angel. That meant Dean was serious. During the walk to find Sam and Gabe, Dean had done a lot of thinking. His life of hunting may never end, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a long-lasting relationship. Hell, he and Cas had made it work for that long. They just weren’t an official couple. No one would ever understand Dean or the life that he led better than Cas. 

Their walk was a bit longer than anticipated, but Dean had radioed back to camp and told everyone to head to Mary as well—that way, everyone could be intercepted at the same point when they all arrived, cutting down on time getting back to the portal. They didn’t intend on bringing anyone from apocalypse world back except for Jack and their mother, but at least they would all be located at a much safer camp. As much as they wanted to bring back Bobby, Kevin, and Charlie, It would upset the natural order.

After what seemed like an eternity of walking, they reached the camp where Mary and Jack were believed to be. Dean waved to the guy manning the gate. 

“Friendly!” Dean shouted up to him, and the guard went to confer with someone about whether or not to let them in. 

Once the door opened, Mary stepped out, coming to hug both of her boys. 

“C’mon Mom, there isn't much time.” Dean urged her, almost to the point of pulling her along. “Let’s get Jack and go.”

“Dean— I’m staying.” She spoke in a soft voice. “They need me here—and I don't feel like I really belong in the other world. I belong here where I can help the refugees fight Michael.” 

“Mom, that’s suicide!” Dean exclaimed, his face laced with concern and betrayal. “We need you.”

She simply placed a hand on Dean’s cheek, giving him a bittersweet smile.

“As much as I hate to say it, you two boys haven't needed me for a long time. You’ve both grown up to be incredible men, and although I wish you hadn’t had to grow up as hunters, you’ve made me so proud.” She explained, Sam’s brow quirked up as he listened. 

Dean knew they didn’t have time to argue about it, so he looked down, fixing his jaw. 

“Alright.” 

“Alright?” Sam asked, making sure he heard him correctly.

“It’s her choice. We can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do. Let’s get the kid and go.” Dean replied, his mind made up. 

Sam solemnly nodded, bringing his arms around his mother for the last time. Dean hugged her for an extra few moments, trying not to shed a manly tear— but it was like losing her all over again. Gabriel was watching, his wings folded behind him. He’d chosen not to retract them because Sam had fawned over them earlier. 

After a few moments of waiting, Jack walked out with Lucifer who had his hand clasped on Jack’s shoulder.

“Ah, I see you located my wayward brother and Mary. I found Jack. Let’s blow this joint.” Lu said, getting impatient. “The longer we stay, the easier it is for Michael to find us.” He paused after that, seeing their surprised expression. “Don’t expect me to work with you guys after this.”

“We don’t. You’re the one with the pointy horns, remember?” Gabriel rolled his eyes, his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Why are you shirtless?” Lucifer quirked his eyebrow, looking from Sam to Gabe. “You two reenacting _Casa Erotica_?”

Sam’s eyes widened when he remembered what that was. 

“N-no! We almost _died!_ ” He retorted, his cheeks blushing a furious red. 

“You sure about that, blushing bride?” Lu teased, a bit of venom behind those words.

Gabriel had enough of his brother’s teasing, so he stepped up. 

“Leave him alone or I’ll toast your ass like the Colonel.” Gabe threatened and Lucifer laughed dryly.

“You keep bringing that up, right— but that’s because its the only pathetic claim to fame you have. Other than that, what did you do? You served as an archaic pregnancy test.” Lu retorted. 

Lucifer and his brother had been in a bit of a spat, even though it was more from Lucifer’s side than Gabriel’s. Lu wanted his true vessel, and Gabriel was trying to weasel his way in because he cared about Sam. Lu had fun toying with Sam’s mind, but that wasn’t the only thing he wanted to toy with. Sam wasn’t interested in the least— mainly because his mind was occupied with the archangel standing in between him and the devil. 

“Lay off of him.” Sam spoke up, his voice deeper and gruffer than before, as if he were going to pick a fight since Lucifer had brought Gabe into it. 

“Hey, you two can get back to having your ‘who daddy likes better’ contest when we get back. We need to get back to our universe. Thanks to Captain Dumbass over here, we might not even have time as it is.” Dean piped up, glaring at Lucifer. “And don't think we've forgotten about that shit you pulled. You're on thin fucking ice.” 

Lucifer rolled his eyes.

“I’m _always_ the bad guy. Always. As bad as the cage was, at least I didn’t have to deal with you morons breaking the world,” Lucifer retorted, then remembered their stunt when they all paid him a visit. “Oh wait—”

Dean rolled his eyes too, which was funny to Gabriel. The only human in existence who could hold a candle to his brother’s sass was Dean, and he loved it. Gabriel wasn’t sure if it was possible, but he envied the brotherly relationship that Sam and Dean had. He wanted that kind of brotherly vibe with Dean, but he knew that the eldest Winchester already didn’t like him. The angel stood there, arms crossed. The corner of Sam’s lips quirked upward a little when he saw him standing there like that. Gabriel only had a small resemblance of the statues and paintings that were supposed to be in his likeness. With his wings draping over his back and his chest covered in lamb’s blood, he looked like the warrior angel that he used to be—at least what Sam assumed he would have looked like. He wondered to himself if the angels used to wear metal armor. Metal armor wasn’t invented until the middle ages— of course there were swords before that, but they were wooden before blacksmithing. What would Gabriel have worn during the Holy Wars? A toga? He wasn’t a human always— maybe he wore nothing.

“You’re drooling, Samsquatch.” Gabriel pointed out, a grin on his own lips. Turning to Dean, he shrugged. “Let’s just go home. Sam and I have had more than enough of this world.”

Sam nodded, trying to hide the blush on his cheeks. He knew he didn’t have to hide anymore, and that was great, he just wasn’t used to dealing with his feelings outwardly. As everyone grumbled and began to walk toward the bus and away from the camp and Mary, Sam swallowed hard. Talking about leaving their mother there and actually leaving her were two different situations. Noticing his discomfort, Gabriel gently shifted, discreetly brushing his pinky over Sam’s. Sam grabbed Gabe’s hand, intertwining their fingers as the cool breeze stung the unshed tears in Sam’s eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter gave you less of a heart attack than the last one! I hope you all enjoyed it and thank you all for reading. I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can. I love you all! Comments and kudos are always appreciated.


	8. Real and Warm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter was a week late- I started back at uni and life is hectic, but I am working on this fic in my free time and will finish. :)

As the bus started its quick descent down the path, the trees rushed together in Sam’s eyes, fading into a blurry blend of bland colors. That was when he glanced over. Gabriel had nudged him, and the first thing he saw was the brilliant whiskey color of Gabe’s eyes looking up at him with concern. 

“You okay, Sam?” Gabe asked softly and Sam didn’t respond at first. 

“Today has just been—” Sam trailed off.

“A lot. I know.” The archangel finished off his thought for him as they sat together. 

His wings had finally retracted into his back, leaving him looking every bit as human as Sam, but smaller. His blond curls were brushing his cheekbones, his hair a complete mess. The wounds that had covered his body were gone. The angel mojo had taken care of him, but he definitely needed a good recharge after that. He actually wondered to himself if divine intervention had anything to do with his sudden power-up. 

“Look, we can take it slow— I just figured that since it was the end of our lives and all—” Gabriel would have kept rambling on, but he was silenced as Sam cupped his cheeks and pulled him in for a kiss. His eyes widened and he kissed him back, lingering as he took in every single aspect of Sam’s mouth, then took a breath. “Okay first of all—” He tried to interject, but Sam silenced him with another kiss. 

Gabriel gave up fighting to get a word in. Sam’s kiss was the only answer he needed. It was just like the kiss from inside his desire, except this time it wasn’t just a desire. It was real and warm—and everything he thought it would be. He was suddenly aware of each of Sam’s fingers cradling the side of his head, and even more so the gentle yet firmness of the kiss.

“Does that give you an answer?” Sam asked, leaving Gabriel dumbfounded. 

“You’re a lot less shy than you used to be, Winchester. Flirting used to fly over your head and now you’re out here pulling _me_ in for a passionate kiss. It’s a little bit odd—considering how much you’ve changed in ten years.” Gabriel admitted with a little smile when Sam asked for an answer. “But yes, it does give me an answer.”

“Good. Then uh— consider yourself welcome in the bunker.” Sam smiled, giving him a little nod. 

“Really? You wanna move me in? I mean, I’m already there anyway, but still— next thing you know, you’ll be taking a knee.” The archangel teased him a little, nudging him in the ribs, causing Sam to wince a little. 

“Hey, I can’t really afford a real ring, but I can get you something a little better than a ring pop.” Sam joked and Dean rolled his eyes from the other side of the bus where he was seated with Castiel. 

The shorter male noticed the wince and he held out his hand. 

“Hey— you want me to try and heal you?” The archangel asked softly, not sure if he could or not. He just wanted to try. 

“Nah, I’m fine. I promise.” Sam gave a reassuring smile. “So what did your brother think we did? He was acting like—”

“Like we slept together, I know,” Gabe finished the thought, wanting to get it over with. 

“Is that something uh, that you want to explore?” 

Bless Sam. Such a shy sweetheart. He managed to fluster the trickster, causing him to blush more, a grin on his lips. Gabe looked away to avoid embarrassment. 

“Well, duh Samshine. I’ve been wanting to bone you for years.” The trickster admitted, masking his embarrassment with sass. “Also get to know you.”

Sam simply shook his head. 

*******

Dean was actually holding Cas’ hand on the way back to the portal, absentmindedly stroking his thumb over the top of his angel’s hand. All of the feelings he'd been holding in for years were finally out in the open, and he'd never felt so free in his entire life. Years of being daddy’s good little solider—all broken for an angel that always looked out for him and kept him safe. No more acting like a tough guy— no more pushing people away. Just freedom. 

“What you did back there— you didn’t have to,” Cas brought up softly, knowing that Dean held his pride above most everything. 

“No, I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. It was the right thing to do. I’m tired of trying to hide the stares, all the times that I’ve wanted you to just fuckin’ kiss me, man.” Dean admitted. “Now that I said something, I’m hopin' you won’t hold back either.” 

Cas smiled and looked down when Dean said that. 

“I’ll definitely keep that in mind, Dean. It’s hard to just kiss someone when they're usually rolling in women.” Castiel pointed out.   
“Hey— I’m bi. Obviously I enjoy what I enjoy. Y’know, cherry pie and apple pie are different flavors, but you can still enjoy them both just as much. You’re just somethin’ special, y’know?” Dean shrugged. “Somethin’ that no busty asian beauty or apple pie can compare to.”

“That’s _very_ romantic of you, Dean.” Cas pointed out with a lot of sass behind his words.

“C’mon. Give me a break. I’m new to this.”

“Judging by those ‘send noods’ socks you have in your drawer at the bunker, you’re right.” Cas grinned and Dean rolled his eyes, this time more playfully than he had previously in response to what Sam said about the ring pop. He thought it was cute. Of course he’d buy his angel the perfect wedding ring. Maybe he'd have to go light on the beers in the future, but his poker winnings were adding up. Cas was worth more than what he could give him. 

Instead of saying anything more, Dean just squeezed the shorter male’s hand, letting their intertwined hands come to rest on Cas’ thigh. He was still confused as to why Castiel always wore the same outfit. Even Dean, with his flannel and button-up wardrobe, had at least a little variety. With Cas, it was always the white-button up, black slacks, navy tie, and trademark tan trench coat. The eldest hunter really couldn’t complain, because Cas looked damn adorable like that, but he also wondered what Cas would look like in casual clothes. Casual clothes meant Dean’s Led Zeppelin shirt— his old flannels that would be too big on Cas. That was when he thought about his brother and Gabe. Gabriel looked like he was wearing a dress when borrowed Sam’s flannels. Back when he came to the bunker all battered and bruised from Asmodeus, Sam had offered up not only his assistance health-wise, but also his flannels.

******** 

_“ Gabriel, I need you.” Sam pled, his eyes glistening slightly with unshed tears._

_For the first time since he'd come to the bunker, he looked Sam straight in the eyes. He didn’t say anything, but he offered up a hand, making the hand motion of writing with a pen. Sam’s eyebrows shot up and he nodded, hurrying to grab a pen and a notepad._

_‘I’m dirty.’ Gabe scribbled on the notepad in Enochian, not even noticing that it was in his native language until he handed it to Sam._

_“Okay… Enochian.” Sam mumbled to himself under his breath as he squinted at the figures on the page._

_He chuckled to himself when he figured out what it meant._

_“Would you uh—like a shower?” Sam asked with a soft clearing of his throat. “You know what? Let me just get you cleaned up. You’ve been through a lot. Is that okay?”_

_Gabriel gave a nod of approval and Sam gently held out his hand for Gabriel to take. Sam had to all but carry Gabriel to the bathroom. His body was so weak—he could barely stand on his own. A shower was out of the realm of possibility, so he decided to run a bath for Gabe. There was an old clawfoot tub in the bunker, so he ran some hot water, pouring in a few capfuls of some cheap bubble bath that he’d acquired from a convenience store. He thought that maybe a small gesture like that could draw a smile out of the once-cheerful angel. With Gabriel on one arm, he gently let him rest on the side of the tub._

_“I can wash you up— if that’s something you want.” Sam mentioned and he half-expected Gabe to pop off with a sarcastic remark about being capable of washing himself, but he simply nodded. The angel’s energy was totally gone. He could barely function enough to be awake._

_Once Sam had managed to help Gabriel out of the ratty off-white tunic he'd been wearing, he was left with a very naked archangel standing in front of him. Blushing slightly, he looked down, trying not to stare too much. He also felt sorry for him— Gabriel’s body was battered, bruised, scarred, and even burned. Asmodeus had burned a demonic symbol on him, marking him for Hell. His once flawless skin was absolutely wrecked. Sam gently helped him into the tub, the bubbles covering most of him anyway. Gabriel winced as he felt the wounds hitting the warm water, then he sighed softly in relief once he was all the way in. He closed his eyes and Sam took a seat on the side of the tub._

_“You don’t have to talk at all— don't feel any pressure. I know those stitches must have hurt coming out, so it’s probably best not to.” Sam mused, looking down at Gabriel’s blond curly hair that fell around his damp shoulders._

_He gave the angel a few minutes to relax before he brought the washcloth out to wash him with._

_“Is it okay if I wash you up?” Sam asked, wanting to make sure to get his explicit consent before every step. It had taken long enough to get him out of the protective shell he'd put himself in— Sam didn’t want to break his trust now._

_Giving a small nod, Gabriel gave him permission. With a long arm, he reached behind Gabriel, having dipped the washcloth in the warm water. With a bit of soap added, he gently brushed the cloth over Gabe’s shoulders, then his neck and his upper back. Once he'd gotten the dried blood and dirt off of Gabriel where he could visibly see, he moved onto the shampoo portion of the washing. He was gentle, yet he massaged his head to relax him. Slowly, the blond hair that Sam had remembered so vividly had returned. The blood no longer stained it, instead staining the water around him. Sam gently felt his way around, cleaning what he couldn’t see in an attempt to be as dignified as possible. Gabriel just watched, his gold eyes flickering to look at Sam’s features as the tall figure worked around him. Every now and again he would wince because of the pain, but it wasn’t too bad. He’d ached so long for a gentle touch._

_After the bath, Sam dressed him in one of his blue and black checkered flannels as well as some joggers that would at least not trip him up. The clothes were comically large on him, the flannel like a nightgown on Gabe’s smaller frame. The angel would never admit how much he enjoyed it—the feel, the fit, the smell. Sam would not be getting his flannel back._

*******

As Sam looked at his angel sitting next to him, he had the urge to cover him with a jacket to keep him warm. They’d both been stripped of their shirts and jackets back at the angel outpost, however, so that was just a pleasant thought and nothing more. He caught himself thinking about those golden eyes again—even as Gabriel’s face was turned away. 

“Marry me.” Sam spoke softly, causing the angel to practically give himself whiplash. 

“What?” Gabriel’s brows furrowed as he asked for clarification. 

“Obviously time is not on our side, so marry me.” Sam spoke, sounding completely serious. 

“You’re not dicking around with me, are you?” The angel asked, searching his eyes.

“Nope, I’m completely serious. If there’s anything I’ve learned from living this life, its to jump on the chance at happiness.” 

The angel’s eyes actually shimmered with unshed tears. 

“Shut up and kiss me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all enjoyed a little bit of fluff and that its a warm welcome as opposed to the soul crushing I put you all through earlier. Thank you all for reading and I appreciate all the kudos and comments. :)


	9. Burned Bridges

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm sorry that this update has taken a while, but I've been busy with classes. I always have this story in the back of my mind, so no worries. I will keep it going! :)

After a few hours of speeding through apocalypse world, Gabriel could see a sliver of the portal still open ahead of them. There was no doubt that they would have to hurry to get everyone through. Their party of four had quickly turned into a party of six, and with Lucifer not present on the other side of the portal to keep it open, they were on borrowed time. 

“Guys—I don't think we have much time to dally once we get to the portal.” Lucifer pointed out as they pulled up and he threw the bus in park. 

“No shit, sherlock.” Dean replied, taking Cas’ hand as he practically pulled him along. 

Sam and Gabe followed quickly, making sure that Jack went in before Lucifer. Since Gabriel had scared away Michael earlier, they weren't too worried about him showing up now. The archangel was a force to be reckoned with— and he would do anything to protect his hunter. A lot had changed since the morning. It was one of those days where the day felt like it lasted a year. Maybe it had. The apocalypse realm was strange in that way. Sam practically pushed Gabe through, not giving him an opportunity to play the tragic hero, mainly because he was already scarred from the time when Gabe ‘sacrificed’ himself for them at the god convention. The hunter actually had a scar from where he'd returned to Gabriel after Lucifer was long gone. The wings of the angel had been smoldering, causing feather-shaped burns on Sam’s shoulder when he held Gabriel in his arms. It was all an illusion—a carefully crafted one at that, but he wasn’t upset about the scar anymore. It reminded Sam of Gabriel, like he was always there with him. 

After they'd all gone back through the portal, Rowena stood before them, wide-eyed. 

“That took ye’ long enough.” She huffed, her curly red hair frizzy from the sheer amount of power she’d been using. 

When Sam heard her voice, he tensed slightly, wrapping his arm around Gabe’s waist possessively. Seeing Rowena and Gabriel in the library after their afternoon romp had scarred him a bit. It had sent a wave of jealousy through him at the time that he didn’t know how to process. Gabe noticed the sudden grip and he gently leaned into his hunter, showing that he wasn’t afraid to let everyone know who he was with. He hoped that would show Sam that he was serious about giving this relationship a try. 

“It did— but we’re back.” Lucifer spoke up, motioning to the door. “If you don’t mind, I’ll be making my exit with my son.”

“Oh no you don’t. Jack is staying right here with us where he will be safe.” Cas threatened, hand on his angel blade in his trench-coat. He knew only an archangel blade would kill him, but an angel blade would at least slow him down. 

“Look, it’s been fun and all, but legally he’s my son. His mother isn't around, so I’m his legal guardian.” Lucifer scowled, hoping that bullshit excuse would get him somewhere.   
“Legal guardian? You’re not even technically a citizen of this earth. Try again.” Gabe piped up and rolled his eyes, grabbing his archangel blade out of his jacket. “I really don't have time for this. Between wanting to bone my boyfriend and you trying to take Jack away, I’m really tired of your bullshit.” 

Sam’s eyes widened when Gabriel said that. He had been too naive to get the obvious suggestive remarks that Lucifer had said early. Between Crowley— rest his soul— always commenting on Sam’s strong physical attributes, and demons constantly commenting on their appearance, the youngest hunter was practically immune to it, especially when it came to Gabe’s flirting before they went to apocalypse world. Maybe he had been that way all along. 

“I’m tired of yours, baby brother.” The older archangel sneered as he faced off against his brother. 

“Just leave— without Jack. No one has to die.” Sam interjected, trying to resolve the situation peacefully. 

“Why don’t we just settle this once and for all, actually. Lucifer thinks he's got some kind of biblical claim on your ass because of the Dead Sea Scrolls. He’ll take any excuse to climb inside and worm his way into your brain. It’s toxic, Sam.” The youngest archangel retorted, glaring at his big brother. 

“Yeah, why don't we? I beat you when we were children and I’ll beat you now. You’ve always been the weak one.” Lu smirked and stepped up, his fists clenched as he held his archangel blade. 

Rowena stood back, rolling her eyes. 

“You boys and yer points ta’ prove.” Ro shook her head. “Look, let tha’ boy decide what he wants ta do.”

“This isn't about Jack anymore. This is about my brother and his necessity to be knocked down a peg.” Gabriel was becoming increasingly irritated the longer it went on. He just wanted the battle to be over. 

That was when he dropped his archangel blade on the floor.

“You know what? This is fucking stupid. All I have _ever_ wanted was for this to be _over_!” Gabriel raised his voice, his voice growing more gravely. “I ran away because you and Michael couldn’t grow up! You couldn’t just compromise. It was one way or the other, and neither of you had enough humility to admit that you were both wrong. Humanity is not one or the other — and I’m not saying dad is right, because he's an asshole most of the time— but we should have just respected his creations. We could have lived in a state of harmony, but you two had to split heaven right down the middle in the wake of your childish war. Are you happy? Clearly neither of you are and, frankly, I don’t give a shit. You two deserve to be miserable for what you did to all of us. All of the angels that suffered. We all loved both of you. Losing both of you was the worst thing that could have ever happened to us.” 

Lucifer frowned, ready to raise his blade against Gabe before he had heard the entire story. Once he heard the last part, did he actually feel—sympathy? He hadn't even thought about how Gabriel had been affected by his actions. He was only partly to blame, but it was still his fault.

*******

Lucifer had been directing the heavenly choir when his baby brother ran up to him. Gabriel looked like the equivalent of a four year old kid, except that he was wearing a white robe and he had three sets of golden wings coming in. His golden curls laid messily atop his head and reflected off of the sunlight, his smile radiant. 

“Lu! Lu!” Gabe called out and stretched out his arms. 

Lucifer was a teenager in comparison to the small child, his wings large and white. He was wearing a smile—one free of malice. 

“Hey kiddo.” Lucifer smiled and picked him up, holding him as Gabriel held out a flower for him. 

“I picked it fo’ you.” Gabe smiled, his golden eyes bright and expectant. 

Lucifer’s heart melted as he took the delicate daisy, twirling it around between his fingers.

“Thank you, Gabey. I’ll add it to my collection.”

The smallest archangel smiled brightly, positively beaming from the praise he received. He was a fledgling that took interest in material things— mainly flowers. He also loved watching the animals, but he wasn’t allowed to go to earth just yet. He was too young. 

“You welcome.” Gabe grinned and reached out to touch his big brother’s wings, his little chubby baby arms too short to reach. 

Lucifer chuckled as he noticed what Gabe was doing, bending his wing down for Gabe to reach.

“Ooh-” Gabriel cooed as he felt the soft feathers beneath his fingers. 

“Someday your wings will grow even more magnificent than mine.” Lu smiled and then took off, causing the baby archangel to squeal as they flew in the sky together. 

Gabriel loved those flights with his brother. All of it stopped when he started fighting with Michael. Lucifer distanced himself from everyone, but to Gabe, it seemed like he'd done something wrong. Things got mixed up and everyone grew bitter toward each other.

*******

“I’ve always been destined to play this part.” Lucifer explained softly, his voice growing quiet as he looked at his brother, glancing to the door. “I’ll go.”

Gabe was shocked. He hadn't expected to have an outburst, and he really hadn't expected Lucifer to actually listen to him. 

“You’ll _what_?” Gabe asked, his heart pounding in his ears.

“We’re never going to have that relationship again, Gabriel. You need to realize that. What happened in the garden— it was far from good— but we can’t take it back. It happened and there is no going back from that. I’m not that Lucifer anymore. I’m something else.” Lu explained softly and disappeared from the bunker in a snap, his blade going with him. 

The youngest archangel stood there speechless, Sam right next to him.

“What just happened?” Dean asked, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“I got through to him.” Gabe breathed softly.

“He’s giving you false hope, Gabriel. Like he said, you both are very different people—angels— whatever now. If you think you can change him, it’s too late for that.” Cas pointed out, stepping closer to his brother.

“I know.” 

For once, Gabriel was a man of very few words. He stood there feeling numb. Years upon years of knowledge was a curse, especially when he'd known his brother for thousands of years. He knew Lucifer before he warped into the monster he was now. He’d always hoped that there was a glimmer of humanity buried deep down inside of him. 

Sam slipped behind him, wrapping his arm around his waist once more. 

“C’mon, lets get some rest, Gabe.” Sam suggested, his voice soft and caring as they walked down the hallway toward Sam’s room in the bunker. 

Once they got to the room, Gabe rubbed his hands over his eyes as he took a seat on the bed, slipping off the nasty clothes from apocalypse world. 

“We should uh— get a shower.” The youngest hunter mentioned almost inaudibly. 

The angel didn’t say anything, just standing up and following Sam to the shower in his boxers. Sam hadn't meant taking a shower together, but it did conserve water and he thought Gabe could use the support. He wasn’t about to argue with him or tell him that he couldn’t. Once they reached the bathroom, Sam turned on the water, letting it get hot as he stripped himself of his clothes. 

They both avoided looking at each other awkwardly as they stepped in, but it was unavoidable. Gabe looked up, but he hadn’t met Sam’s eyes. Bringing his hand up hesitantly, he brushed his fingertips over Sam’s abs, chuckling softly. 

“So this is what eating all that kale and waking up at five a.m. to exercise gets you.” Gabe spoke coyly, a grin on his lips. 

“Maybe.” Sam spoke, doing the same. He brushed his hand down Gabriel’s chest and down his stomach. 

“I don’t have the drive to do that— seems like torture to me.” Gabe commented with a smile, shaking his head. 

“You’re perfect without it, Gabriel.” Sam murmured and pulled him close, wrapping his strong arms around the smaller angel’s frame. 

Pressing the most pure kiss to Gabe’s forehead, he closed his eyes, nuzzling Gabe’s curly blond hair. No words needed to be said because they had such an unspoken chemistry going on— that and they'd both confessed their love during an execution. Eventually they did shower up, but not before taking the opportunity to worship each other’s bodies in the process. It was a match truly made in heaven. Gabriel didn’t know if it would last or not, but he had faith in the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hoped you enjoyed the angel fluff this chapter. I love you all and I hope you'll stick around to read more in the future! Comments, suggestions, and kudos are always appreciated!


	10. Sammy Gets Shotgun, Feathers.

“Wake up!” A deep voice spoke in a hushed tone as sunlight poured through the window, blinding Gabriel through his closed eyelids. 

“What?” Gabe slurred sluggishly from the bed as he covered his eyes with his forearm. 

“We’ve got a case. A real case. Not something cross-dimensional.” Sam spoke with the same excitement as a child would in regards to getting ice cream.

“Wait—so you and Deano want me to come along?” The angel inquired.

“Of course we do. It’s our life—and you and Cas are part of our lives now.” Sam smiled and tossed a flannel at Gabriel. Holding it up slightly, the archangel sat up and tugged it on, whining a little.

“It’s so early—” Gabe complained, rubbing his eyes as he sat there with raging curly bedhead and rosy cheeks. 

“I’m an early bird. Guess you've got to get used to it, _angel_.” Sam spoke with a grin, sipping his healthy kale and pineapple smoothie he'd already been out to snag at the local juice place. How long had Sam been up? 

Gabriel tugged on the flannel, buttoning it up and rolling up the sleeves. That still didn’t do anything for the length of the shirt, which looked like a dress on him. As he stood there in his flannel and boxers, Sam pursed his lips. After a moment of thinking, Sam dug through his drawers, looking for something in particular. 

“Here.” Sam spoke as he tossed an old pair of jeans at Gabriel. 

“These are—” Gabe started to speak and was cut off by Sam. 

“Huge, I know. I’ve got a belt, and—” Sam trailed off as he took a pocketknife out of his back pocket. Before Gabe could protest, Sam had cut off an entire foot from the legs of the jeans. His jaw dropped slightly as he watched him do that. 

“That works—I guess.” Gabe mused and pulled them on. They fit perfectly, much to Gabriel’s chagrin. Sam smiled like a golden retriever, having brought his master a ball. 

“They look good on you.” Sam smiled and thrust a belt at him. 

Once they were ready, they headed out to the main area of the bunker. Dean was eating some fruit loops with milk and Cas was reading over the case, getting himself put together. Gabriel figured that it would be some easy case to work, so he brought his angel blade with him and nothing else. As long as the Winchesters were with them, hopefully he wouldn't die (again).   
“Why do you wear a trench coat all the time?” Gabe asked as he took a seat beside his brother. 

“You want some of my smoothie?” Sam asked Gabriel as he passed by like the busy bee he was. 

“No, I’m good. I don't drink things that are green—” The archangel grinned, which earned a playful glare from Sam. 

“You’re lucky you’re an archangel with the metabolism of a trickster.” Sam pointed out and Gabe rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah, yeah.”

That’s when he noticed that Castiel hadn't replied to his question. 

“Huh Cassie? Why do you wear essentially the same thing every day? Do you wash it?” Gabe asked with a smile on his lips. Maybe he was asking to be annoying, but he was partly asking because he was actually curious. 

“Why do you ask questions like a five year old human child?” Castiel popped off smartly, causing Dean to almost snort his froot loops. “For your information, I like this outfit.” Cas smiled a little at the end, feeling like he'd won his part of the conversation. 

The archangel shook his head, shutting up for the time being. When it came time to leave, everyone piled their things into the trunk, ready to get into Baby and head off toward the town where the case was. Gabriel went toward the back, assuming Sam would pile in behind him. Instead, his little brother followed, giving him a smile with a sense of camaraderie. 

“Wait— why aren't you sitting up front with your boyfriend?” Gabe asked, a scowl forming on his lips. 

“Sammy gets shotgun, feathers. That’s how it works. Cas will teach you the ropes around here.” Dean grinned and pulled out of the drive, the engine of the impala humming as they sped off. “Sam, brief the new guy.” 

Gabriel rolled his eyes and Sam pulled out his laptop. 

“Alright, so get this— It’s a simple haunting this time, we think. There have been five strange deaths in the past few months in Charleston, North Carolina. There are supposedly a ton of ghosts that haunt the town, but many stay dormant. Now, from time to time on the anniversary of the tragic events of their deaths, they'll rise up. Hopefully its just a case of salting and burning the bones or possessions. All of the victims have been new mothers. They’ve all been killed in horrific ways— but the local police department think that they're killing themselves. Postpartum depression. We think that it could be the ghost of a mother who feels guilt for an accidental homicide of her children. Maybe it was on purpose. That’s what the fun part is.” Sam spoke and Gabe gave him a strange look. “I mean, finding out what the ghost is upset about. I like finding out what happened.”

“Okay, easy there, Scooby Doo.” Dean chuckled, turning up the radio as they sped down the road. 

“How do you _not_ get pulled over driving like this?” Gabe asked and Dean took in a deep breath of air. 

“You shouldn't have said that—” Cas spoke almost inaudibly. 

“Look— it hasn't even been two miles into this trip. I haven't gotten pulled over in over five years and I don't intend to now. I’ve got a police scanner in the car, I know where likely speed traps are. Shut your trap and enjoy the ride.” Dean huffed. 

“Okay, okay. Sorry I asked.” Gabe rolled his eyes and stared out the window, wishing he was canoodling in the backseat with Sam. He understood the brotherhood thing, though. Had Lucifer not been thrown into Hell, he and Gabe would have probably been that close. He wished he had that kind of relationship with his brother, but Lucifer had said previously that it would never be the same. Wishful thinking, he supposed. 

The drive wasn’t too bad, but it was still a long trip. Dean never stopped for breaks either, unless he was getting gas. The impala wasn’t great on gas, which presented the question of how the brothers never got caught up in their credit card scams. Dean paid for gas with his card most of the time unless he'd be recognized as wanted in the area. He hadn't had to worry about that in a long time, thanks to that one FBI agent who'd cleared their record. They were still wanted by multiple states, so they had to be careful. Regardless, it was almost a whole day of driving and Gabe was getting restless. 

“You want to play a road trip game?” Cas asked softly and Gabe didn’t think his eyes could roll further back in his head. 

“Like what?” He replied softly to humor his little brother. 

“Like—‘I spy’?” Cas smiled and Gabe nodded. “Okay, I spy something black.” The younger angel spoke and Gabe glanced around so that it wouldn't be a total decimation round. 

“The impala.” Gabe answered after a moment. 

“How did you know?” Castiel was truly in shock.

‘The whole-ass car is black. Nothing else on this road is black except for the pavement’ he thought to himself, but instead he said, “Lucky guess.”

They had a few pleasant conversations on the way— and when it came to the topic of Gabe watching over Castiel as a fledgling, suddenly everyone was interested in what Gabriel had to say. 

“He was adorable. So curious about everything. I had a hand in naming and creating some of the animals, and we had this fun game going that was figuring out which of the animals that I had the ideas for.” Gabe explained.

“Platypus. Mongoose. Blobfish. They all fit on the same scale of oddness.” Can pointed out and Gabe scoffed playfully.

“C’mon, what’s life if we don't have things to laugh at?” Gabe asked, remembering one time that a butterfly landed on Cassie’s face the first time they’d visited Earth together.

Castiel had been Gabriel’s responsibility when he was a fledgling, which Gabe never minded much. He always said he wasn’t that fond of children, but he had a soft spot for his little brother. As they walked by the riverside, a butterfly landed on Cas’ face. It was an Owl Butterfly, a species of butterfly that had eyespots on its back to scare away predators. When it fluttered its wings, it looked like Cas had owl eyes. Gabe chuckled as he saw it, but Cas was scared, letting out a squeal. 

“Calm down, Cassie. It won’t hurt you. Look.” Gabe spoke softly as he picked it up on the tip of his finger. 

As it fluttered, Cas slowly stepped closer, tiptoeing to see it with his brilliant and wonder-filled ocean blue eyes. He giggled a little as it fluttered when he tried to pet it, noticing that it tickled. 

“See? It won’t hurt you. It starts out as a caterpillar and then transforms into a butterfly after it goes into its cocoon. It gets to fly after spending its life on the ground.” He spoke softly and looked to his little brother’s excited expression. Just then, a bumblebee buzzed around, landing on Cas’ arm. He brought his arm up slowly to look at it. Gabriel looked at the bee, smiling. 

“I decided that bees would give us honey. Michael wanted them created for pollen— but I thought it would be nice for them to be able to produce honey for the creatures to eat. It’s sweet.” Gabe explained and Cas brought the bee up to his line of view. 

Cas then tried to put the bee in his mouth.

“No! No Cassie. You don't eat them. You’ve gotta find their hive and the honey is there. They make it with the pollen.” The angel smiled and Cas gently put the bee on a flower, watching it buzz off.

“There you go, my little bumblebee.” The archangel smiled as he ruffled his little brother’s hair.

“ _You want to pick a track for us to listen to? Do you have a favorite Led Zeppelin song?”_ Dean asked, jarring Gabe out of his daydream. 

“Oh umm… ‘Going to California’? Gabe asked after a moment of thinking about it. 

“Good choice. It’s not as upbeat, but damn—brings a tear to my eye sometimes.” Dean mused and Sam gave him a skeptical look. “Well—you can never go wrong with Zep, Sam.”

Once they'd gotten almost there, they decided to stop at a diner. They always made a point of picking little local diners—not just because they'd blend in, but because they liked the atmosphere. Gabe actually had a chance to slide in next to his boyfriend. They all finally had a chance to break from the monotony of the trip. 

“Milkshakes on me?” Dean asked and Sam chuckled. 

“You win the lottery?” Sam asked curiously, letting Gabe lean on his shoulder.

“No, just beat the hell outta some sucker in poker. He looked like the fuckin’ Godfather if the Godfather was a biker, but I didn’t crack. It paid off. No more scamming—at least for a little while. We’re doubling up on beds anyway.” Dean shrugged and ordered a double bacon cheeseburger with a beer as the waitress came over. Gabe and Cas just ordered the regular burger. It sounded pretty good and filling after such a long day. Sam ordered a decidedly less artery clogging meal—a veggie wrap. 

“I don’t know how you kiss him without immediately seizing up.” Dean directed toward Gabe after they'd ordered.

“Like this.” Gabe grinned and planted one on Sam’s lips, causing the taller hunter to blush a furious red color.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for sticking with me! I don't have a concrete uploading schedule because of Uni, but I'm still working on it. This story is my baby. Comments and kudos are always appreciated, and I love all of you that read this story. Until next time! :)


	11. North Carolina Likes it On Top

After they had all had their hearty lunch, it was time to go on the road again. They’d driven all day and night, and the next stop would be a run-down motel in North Carolina. They couldn’t quite afford the good hotels, but the motels had their quirks. Ignorance was bliss in their case when it came to wondering what went down in the motel room before they arrived. When they did all arrive, they had a good stretch. Being in the cramped car for that long was grinding on everyone by the time they officially arrived.

“Alright everyone. Bright and early tomorrow morning— we work on the case. Tomorrow night we can have some drinks and do a bit more research if necessary. We need to find significant leads once we find out exactly who or what is doing this.” Sam spoke, more or less for Gabe because he was the newbie on the case. 

Everyone nodded and Cas looked longingly toward the bed. Even if sleeping wasn’t something the angels normally needed, it was nice to catch some shut-eye now and again. Gabe looked to Sam who was stripping down to just his jeans. Gabe gave him a strange look, but then he glanced to the bed. Maybe he'd wear pants too. There were some unknown stains on the sheets and Gabe tried his best not to give a reaction. Both Cas and Gabe went to their respective hunters, letting the hunters sleep on the inside of the two beds so they'd be close to each other. Sam held out his arm, patting the bed where he wanted Gabe to lay down. 

“What are you waiting for?” Sam teased a little and Gabe shook his head, grinning. 

“Nothing I guess.” Gabe replied as he gently stripped off his shirt, laying down beside the tall hunter. 

Noticing that Sam’s feet were hanging off the end, he chuckled to himself. 

“What?” Sam asked, his teeth showing as he chuckled.

“Your feet. Do you feel like a giant everywhere you go?” Gabe asked and Sam shrugged a little, wrapping his strong arms around the angel. 

Neither of the couples had officially slept together. It was slow-going, which was a surprise when it came to Gabe. The archangel had always found it so easy to sleep with people in his past, but when it came to Sam, he was increasingly nervous. He put off a fake sense of confidence, but he was anxious. Part of him knew he was being ridiculous for not just going for it, but he wanted it to mean something—he wanted the first time to be special. The same went for Dean too, actually. Dean wanted to treat Cas like the angel he was. Castiel was always anxious when it came to things that were remotely sexual. He’d only had sex a couple of times—and he was sorely inexperienced. As Cas laid next to Dean, he made the first move to cuddle, wrapping an arm around Dean’s torso. Dean smelled more strongly of a musky cologne than Sam. Sam’s scent was softer than Deans, and Gabe couldn’t get enough of it. Cas took a discrete sniff of Dean’s olive t-shirt, burying his face in the oldest hunter’s shoulder. All of them were exhausted from the drive, so they curled up and fell asleep, waking bright and early the next morning thanks to Sam’s alarm. It actually scared Gabe awake. It was the ever-triggering Sonar alarm that everyone used on their iPhones. 

“Sam—what in the ever-loving fuck is that sound?” Gabe practically hissed, covering his ears as best he could, his face in Sam’s chest. 

The younger hunter turned his alarm off, chuckling. 

“It’s just a wakeup alarm. No biggie.”

“No _biggie_? You might as well wake me up with a tornado siren right next to my ear.” Gabe sassed him and Sam just wrapped his arms around Gabe, holding him until he calmed down from his morning tirade. It didn’t take long because the angel was still sleepy. 

“C’mon. We need to go get you some clothes.” Sam spoke softly and sat up, the angel practically falling into his lap. 

“SaaaaAM.” Gabe whined softly, shaking his head. “I don't want to. Why can’t I just wear your clothes?”

“I didn’t pack enough clothes for both of us and I have a limited number that I can cut off. That’s why.” Sam chuckled, sitting up as he stretched, giving Gabe quite the view of his muscles flexing.

“I like your flannels though—” Gabe actually pouted as he said that, causing Sam to grin.

“Fine. You can borrow my flannels, but you have to get some t-shirts and pants that fit you.” Sam compromised with him, agreeing to let him use the flannels. 

Gabriel celebrated internally, just the dimples on his cheeks giving away how happy he was about the flannels. They had become sort of a safety thing for him, especially after Sam had put one on him after the whole Asmodeus ordeal. He kept that one—and Sam hadn’t said anything about it yet, but Gabe was just waiting for him to. 

“Hey—” Sam spoke softly, turning around with an amused expression on his face. “What happened to that red flannel that I gave you a while back?”

Gabe gave him a coy expression and a shrug. 

“I dunno.”

On the other side of the room, Dean and Cas were waking up. Castiel was already getting dressed in his suit, a bit more self-conscious of the same outfit thing since Gabe brought it up. Maybe he would participate in the shopping trip. It was probably time to switch things up. It had been over ten years of the same type of outfit. 

Dean’s expression was soft as he looked up at Cas with those mesmerizing green eyes. 

“New tie?” The older hunter asked, his voice raspy from sleep. 

“Same tie I’ve always worn.” Castiel huffed a little, glancing to Gabe who was grinning at him. 

“Hey— no need to get snippy, Columbo.” Dean pointed out, sitting up so he could stretch and get ready to pull on whatever clothes came out of his bag. 

“Hey Dean, can you drop Gabe and I off at the mall while you’re poking around with Cas?” Sam asked and Dean nodded, looking up to Cas from where he was seated on the bed. 

“Sure.” Dean spoke with his eyebrows raised.

“We won’t take long, I promise. I just didn’t think you’d need four FBI agents on the case since it’s just a suspected string of suicides.” Sam explained and Dean nodded, not needing more explanation than that. 

After they'd all dressed— Gabriel bringing up the rear in Sam’s cutoff jeans, they piled into the car and headed to the nearest mall. There was still a quirky mall left in North Carolina that offered clothes and old radio parts, along with a small burger and shake joint. Sam and Gabriel got out together, heading into the mall. The first stop was the clothing store where Gabriel immediately headed toward the dark clothes rack and Sam headed in beside him as the smaller male picked out potential t-shirts. There was a quirky shirt that said ‘North Carolina likes it on top’ because of its relation to South Carolina. Sam gave Gabriel a judgmental look as the angel snickered. 

“Get used to it.” Gabe teased which caused a blush to creep onto Sam’s cheeks. 

After he'd picked out a Rick and Morty t-shirt and a few rock band shirts, he headed to the jeans rack to pick out some shorter jeans. That was when he headed to the fitting room, tugging Sam along with him. Once they'd headed back to a room, Gabe pulled him in. 

“Wait— you want me in here?” Sam asked and Gabe nodded.

“Well duh— who is going to approve the outfits for me? You’ve gotta gas me up, Sam.”

“Gas you up?” Sam laughed softly and Gabe nodded.

“Teen lingo. You’ve gotta tell me I look cute. Boyfriend requirement.” The angel spoke smugly and Sam chuckled, taking a seat on the bench in the room, his lanky legs taking up most of the space in the small room. 

After trying on a t-shirt and the first pair of jeans, he gave Sam a small twirl. The t-shirt wasn’t too tight, but it was conforming to his body in the perfect way. It was the stupid North Carolina shirt. 

“How did you sneak that in?” Sam laughed, shaking his head.

“Easy. I distracted you with my ass.” Gabe boasted and the hunter rolled his eyes.

“Which looks great in those jeans by the way. That are _your_ size.” Sam grinned when he said that, the angel tossing the shirt off and onto him, messing up that perfect hair of his.

“You messed up my hair!” Sam exclaimed and Gabe took it as an opportunity to sass him.

“What are you going to do about it, Samsquatch? The shorter male challenge. 

“What am I going to do about it?” Sam scoffed and stood up, quickly pressing Gabe’s back up against the wall of the changing room. 

Sam’s nose and lips hovered mere centimeters from Gabriel’s face, causing the angel’s breath to hitch. His golden eyes flickered from Sam’s eyes to his lips, his heart pounding in his chest as he waited for Sam to take over. That he did. Sam’s lips crashed violently into Gabriel’s, his large hands cupping Gabe’s cheeks as his hips pressed against the angel’s. Gabriel’s eyelids fluttered closed and his hands roamed under the hem of Sam’s shirt, brushing his fingertips over Sam’s well-defined abs. 

“Mmm— you're so fucking perfect. It’s not fair.” Gabe breathed once they parted for air. 

“Why can’t I get you to see yourself the way I see you, Gabriel?” The tall hunter asked, his sunflower eyes focused in on Gabriel’s, making him feel like the most important person in the world. “You’re an angel of the lord, but none of that matters to me. You’re Gabriel— you're my boyfriend who risked his life to save me. Even so— you're _my_ angel, Gabe. You make me feel safe.” He admitted softly, causing the angel’s eyes to glisten with tears that threatened to fall. 

“Fuck what anyone else says about you. You’re my everything, Gabriel.” Sam murmured before he kissed him heatedly once more. 

Once they parted again, both of their cheeks were flushed, Sam’s hair even more of a mess because Gabriel had his fingertips weaved throughout it. Sam let go, grinning with those doe eyes of his sparkling. They stepped out of the room once Gabriel was done getting dressed, heading to the front to check out. Gabe paid for his clothes, winking to Sam.

“Porn royalties.” Gabe explained none-to-subtly, causing the cashier’s eyes to widen. 

Once they left the store, Gabe could smell the mall food calling to him. Once they got to the burger joint, his eyes widened because he saw that they had homemade milkshakes. 

“Sam— could we get milkshakes?” He asked, practically tugging on Sam’s sleeve. 

“You can, but I don’t want one.” Sam shrugged and Gabe pouted.

“Oh c’mon, you can’t lay off of the health nut stuff for _one_ milkshake?” Gabe asked, hoping to persuade him with those golden puppy dog eyes of his. 

Sam sighed and Gabriel knew the cave was coming.

“Fine.” Sam huffed like he wouldn't enjoy it, but ten minutes later, they were both sharing a large chocolate Oreo milkshake. 

Gabriel took the cherry off the top and popped it into his mouth, making faces as he attempted to tie the stem with his tongue.

“What are you doing?” Sam barely got out through muffled chuckles.

“Ta da!” Gabe grinned proudly as he stuck his tongue out, the cherry stem tied on the end of his tongue. “It means I’m a good kisser.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.” The hunter smiled and met Gabriel’s sweet lips for another kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all again for reading this! It means so much to me that people enjoy my work. I am definitely always working on this and I should have the next chapter up soon! I have a few big uni assignments I'm focusing on right now, but it shouldn't impact how soon I update- just letting you all know just in case it takes a bit. As always, kudos and comments are much appreciated! I love you all!


	12. The Main Entrée at Ghost Dinner

While Sam and Gabe were at the mall, Dean and Cas had made their way to the location of the body. The angel was wearing an FBI suit this time, one borrowed from Dean so that he might pass as more official. He was practically ecstatic to get to ride shotgun, especially since it was only in the absence of Sam that he had that privilege. As he stared out of the window, Dean drummed on the steering wheel to “Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Creedence Clearwater Revival. The killer guitar solo was infectious and Cas found himself tapping along to the beat with his fingertips across his slacks. They finally pulled up to the Halifax county precinct where the body was being autopsied. 

“Agents Lennon and Harrison.” Dean’s gruff voice informed the receptionist. “We’re here to see the body of a Mrs. Johnson.”

The receptionist waited for them to flash their badges and each of them did just that, Cas flashing his only badge and hoping it would pass. Sam and Dean had a countless number of different aliases. 

“I thought this was ruled as a suicide, why would the FBI be getting involved?” The receptionist inquired and Dean was overcome by this irritated look on his face. He didn’t like when they asked questions or got too nosy.

“There have been a string of these similar deaths in this same county in just over a few months. No, we don't believe these were all just suicides.” Dean corrected him, trying not to sound too much like a smartass. 

Seemingly satisfied with that answer, the receptionist moved them along to the autopsy room where the examiner was with the body. 

“Twenty-three year old female. Apparent death by hanging. She has strangulation marks on her neck and all of the classic signs of a hanging.” The examiner spoke softly. “They called me into this precinct because this town is so small—only a population of about two thousand. No strange deaths in over a decade. To have five deaths of young mothers over the span of a few months— that’s very suspicious to me.” She admitted and Dean nodded in agreement. 

“Thats why we were sent. At least everyone should know each other in this town.” Dean pointed out and Cas nodded. 

“We’ll have to question them.” Cas agreed. 

Dean looked over the body, noticing that there were no strange marks on the body. It did very much look like a self-inflicted death, but Dean wasn’t convinced. 

“Thank you for your time.” Dean thanked the examiner and left with Cas, heading to talk with the deceased woman’s husband.   
“This looks like just your typical ghost to me— or maybe even a murderer. It really does not look very supernatural to me. Maybe someone just cracked and is going on a spree.” Castiel mentioned softly and Dean shrugged. 

“Let’s talk to the husband and maybe a few other witnesses and we’ll see if we can gather something that points us in the right direction.” Dean spoke and they got out at the house. 

“So was your wife acting strange before the accident? Or did you notice anything strange—feelings, smells?” Dean asked and the woman’s husband shook his head. 

“No—she was happy. I mean—that I know of, but they say that you can’t tell when something is up with some people. I should have talked to her, y’know? I should have asked if she was okay.” He spoke, clearly feeling a lot of guilt. 

“This wasn’t your fault. No matter how this turns out, you need to understand that.” Cas spoke and Dean glanced to him. 

After talking to the witness, Cas and Dean headed back to the car with the knowledge that it definitely had to be a ghost. The indication of cold spots in the house by the husband paired with the fact that he’d heard no struggle pointed to a ghost. But what ghost? That was their next mission. Sam would be tasked with research and then they would have to find out where her bones or possessions were buried or located. If they had to dig a body up, at least they had four people now—which would make it much faster. Once Cas and Dean had picked up Sam and Gabe from the mall in the next county, they headed back to the motel. 

“So what did you find?” Sam asked, actually sitting in the back with Gabe this time. 

“Well, husband says the house was cold and that his wife didn’t make a noise— that he knows of.” Dean explained and Gabe leaned back in the seat. 

“So— lots of research to do?” Gabe asked. 

“Well, it can’t be too hard considering that we have a pattern of young mothers who are dying by way of apparent suicide.” Sam added, gently and discreetly slipping his hand over onto Gabe’s thigh. 

Once they got back to the hotel, Sam pulled out his trusty computer, looking up public records of Halifax county. There weren't too many records of anything but land deeds, mostly. That made research a lot easier. Dean went on a beer run with Cas, leaving Sam and Gabe by themselves. 

“A-ha!” Sam exclaimed after a long pause of silence. Gabriel had almost dozed off, laying stomach down on the bed as he watched Sam research. He startled, looking bleary-eyed at the computer.

“What is it?” Gabe asked. “Did you solve the mystery, Scooby Doo?” 

“Maybe. This looks promising. It goes back to the days of the Roanoke colony— but a bit after that. Years later, this woman and her husband settle in Halifax. They settle down and have a couple kids—everything seems great. It says here that she killed her children and husband, then herself. See, the kids and husband are living in the cases, but I think it’s because she refuses to kill the kids and the husband. She feels guilty for what she did and she is projecting it onto these women. She’s buried in Halifax Cemetery. It’s the only cemetery in the whole county.” Sam spoke, feeling better now that he'd pretty much solved the case. As long as they bones burned and the ghost disappeared, they were in business.

“Hey— didn’t you say the last death happened like two weeks ago?” Gabe asked. 

Sam bit his lip, nodding. “Yeah—which means a murder is going to happen tonight too. We have to find out who in town just had a baby.” Sam closed his computer after a while of searching. “Medical records are sealed so we’ll have to ask around.” 

“We don't have time, Sam.” Gabe pointed out. “Let’s head to the bar.” 

It was only five o’clock. There was still time. The deaths were all projected to have occurred around midnight each time, so as far as Gabe was concerned, they had time. Walking to the nearest bar with Sam, Gabe huffed about halfway there. 

“Slow down— your legs are so damn long.” The angel complained and Sam grinned, walking at an almost unbearably slow pace to him. Gabe was out of breath from working his short legs so much. 

As they walked into the bar, Gabe could tell that it was a very country-type bar. Guys in cowboy hats and older men were sitting around the bar. He made a note not to grind on Sam to the hillbilly music lest they get practically kicked out of the bar. Sam made his way up with Gabe, having a seat beside an older man. 

“Hey—we just got into town and we were wondering if anything exciting happens around here? Would it be a good place to start a family?” Sam asked and Gabriel bit his lip nervously. 

The older man eyed them both suspiciously, clearly not a fan of the idea of the two of them being a couple. 

“Well—considering that everyone lately who has started a family has died— I don't think so. Especially not _your_ kind.” The older man with the handlebar mustache spouted off and Sam frowned. Gabe, on the other hand, was ready to pop off. 

“ _Our kind_?” Gabe spoke, eyes narrowing at the man. “Surely you did not just insult my husband to his face.”

Sam opened his mouth to object to what Gabe was saying, but Gabe shushed him. 

“No, let the man explain himself. You owe him no explanation at all.” The angel had gotten between the two of them, not expecting the man to just throw a punch right at his face. 

After Gabriel had reeled back from the unexpected punch, Sam foresaw the coming fight in the angel’s eyes, so he held out his long arm. Holding Gabriel back just barely, the man gave a snide smile and put money down, leaving the bar. 

“If anyone is going to rot in Hell, its you! I’ll personally see to it that you do!” Gabriel shouted after him and Sam just pulled him in tightly, trying to calm him down. 

“Hey—hey—” Sam breathed into his ear, Gabe still wearing a scowl on his face, fists balled him. 

“I should have just smote him where he stood. World would be better off without him.” Gabe practically growled and Sam shook his head. 

“That’s true, but we don’t need you booked in jail for murder right now. Or witchcraft—however this town would interpret that.” Sam reminded him, then grinned a little. “Husband, hm?” He added, giving Gabe a shit-eating grin. 

“Well— yeah—we can’t blow our cover.” Gabe’s brows furrowed as he looked up at Sam, his nose actually bleeding from one of the man’s rings giving him a good cut across the bridge. 

“Our cover is a couple looking to settle down and have a family?” Sam asked and Gabe looked confused. 

“Yeah— right? I mean, that’s what I was assuming.”

“I was going for two men with families of their own.” Sam chuckled. “I’ll settle for husbands if that’s what you want.” 

“Well, it’ll be good practice, won’t it?” Gabe smiled, his golden eyes sparkling just from the thought of that domestic life. Maybe not _that_ domestic, but something along the lines of hunting with his husband. 

“We still need evidence, _honey_.” Sam practically cooed into his ear, strong arms wrapped around him. 

Gently letting Gabe go, he waited until things settled before looking for someone to ask. He didn’t even have to wait long because a young woman walked up to them with a look of concern.

“Are you two okay? Otis is one of the worst for that kind of thing. I apologize for his rude behavior.” She spoke and Gabe nodded. 

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s just sad— we were looking for a place to move into and start a family.” Gabe spoke, giving his best sad impression puppy dog eyes. 

“Oh! My husband and I moved here not too long ago. Our baby is only three months old.” She smiled softly. “There’s a place down by us—its a really loving community.” 

“Oh really? Could you give us the address uh—” Sam waited for her name. 

“Roxanna.” She smiled and stuck out a hand to shake, which they both did. 

“How long have you two known each other?” She inquired and Gabe smiled lovingly up at Sam. 

“About ten years. Isn’t that right, sweetheart?” Gabe asked and Sam blushed a little, nodding. 

“More like fifteen I think. Time just passes by so quickly when you’re in love.” Sam grinned and she made a little ‘aw’ sound. 

“Feel free to come by later— I planned to make some cookies for the neighborhood kids.” Roxanna smiled warmly at them, then she said goodbye. 

“That’s perfect, Gabe. Quick thinking. This way we can be there in case something does come for her. She seems like the perfect candidate for ghosty.” Sam pointed out and Gabe grinned proudly. 

“I just feel bad for her. She’s so nice—and I don’t want her to be the main entrée at the ghost dinner tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all have enjoyed the newest chapter! I have a cute storyline I am working towards, so prepare yourselves. As always, comments, kudos, and suggestions are appreciated! Love you guys!


	13. Three Men and a Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long. I am excited to keep writing on it. I hope you all will enjoy!

After Sam and Gabe left the bar, Sam made a quick call to Dean about the lead they’d gotten on the case, and they made plans to meet up later in the neighborhood. It was impossible for Dean to hide his snickers on the other end of the phone as Sam told him about what had happened at the bar. 

“It’s like ‘Three Men and Baby’ with Gabriel around.” Dean teased and shook his head to himself. 

“Well, in terms you can understand, he’s just the embodiment of Uma Thurman in ‘Kill Bill’. I can’t help it.” Sam spoke, using a reference he knew would get the point across to Dean. That actually earned a laugh from the eldest hunter. 

“Seems like it, yeah.” The oldest hunter glanced back to Cas. He was nodding in agreement. “Well, it looks like we’re one step closer to solving this thing. I guess you two can go in undercover.”

“Wait a minute.” Gabe interjected as he looked to Sam. “I have an idea.” 

Hours later, Dean found himself standing outside of the house wearing a sweater tied around his neck, glancing to Cas whose hand he was holding. Gabriel was wearing a smirk on his face as they stood together. 

“Remember, you’re the couple who just moved in down the block and you just so happen to show up at the door once we’re inside. Capisce?” Gabe looked to the hunter and his angel. 

“Capisco.” Cas answered without a second thought, not catching the reference. Gabriel just gave him a half-glare and headed down the street with Sam in the Impala, parking it in front of the house. 

Gabriel just sat there and Sam raised an eyebrow. 

“You gonna get out?” Sam asked and Gabe looked at him as if he had the IQ of a potato. “What?” 

“Aren’t you going to open my door, _dearest_?” Gabe asked and Sam rolled his eyes playfully. 

“How could I forget, _babe_?” Sam gave a fake grin and got out, heading to the other side of the car to open Gabe’s door for him. 

“Why thank you.” Gabe smiled and took Sam’s large warm hand in his own, his cheeks flushing pink.

He didn’t know why he was so shy around Sam. That continued to baffle him. Once they walked up to the door, Sam gave a polite knock, still holding Gabe’s hand in his other. Roxanna opened the door, a smile on her lips. The smell of chocolate chip cookies baking made Gabriel’s stomach growl. 

“Hey guys! Come on in. My husband Alex is in the kitchen feeding Rosy right now, but he'd love to meet you two.” She smiled and motioned for them to come in. 

Gabe and Sam followed her inside to the living room that was conjoined with the kitchen. Taking a seat on the couch, Sam’s hand came to rest on Gabe’s knee. Sam had the EMF radio in his back pocket, which gave Gabe an opportunity to put his hand near Sam’s perfect ass. While Roxanna went to the bathroom and her husband went to the one upstairs to clean Rosy up, Gabe grabbed it and turned it on. 

“The place is radiating with spooky energy.” Gabe commented as it went wild. Turning it off, he put it into his back pocket again, giving him a little playful pinch. Sam’s eyes went wide. 

“Alright— we’ve got to figure out what is causing this ghost to inhabit everyone’s houses. She can’t be tethered to an object, so it has to be a salt and burn case.” Sam whispered into Gabe’s ear. 

“I’ll call Cas.” Gabe nodded and stepped into the hall. “Hey Cas? Yeah—this is Gabe. Well, duh!” He had to resist the urge to strangle him through the phone. “Look, change of plans. You have to do the S and B if you know what I mean. The tango with the good ol’ earthy and white.” 

He was trying to use code as to not freak Roxanna and her husband out, but it made no since.

“What are you trying to say to me right now?” Cas asked and Gabriel sighed. 

“Cemetery. Salt and burn.” He hissed right as Roxanna walked out of the bathroom. 

“Is everything okay? She asked and Gabriel hung up, nodding. 

“Oh yeah, it was just my mom. She was asking my opinion about a haircut. She can’t hear, the poor thing. I told her she should go with getting all of it permed.” Nice save, Gabriel. 

Roxanna smiled and nodded. 

“Alex should be finishing up with Rosy shortly. She likes to make messes wherever she goes.” She chuckled and Gabe nodded. 

“Gotta love ‘em though.” He smiled. 

“Are you two thinking about having children?” She asked and Gabriel felt his cheeks heating up. “Oh! I’m sorry— I don’t mean to pry.” 

“Oh, no, you're fine, Roxanna. We haven't really discussed it. I know Sam would be a great dad though.” Gabe meant every word he was saying. He didn’t want to rush into anything with Sam in real life, however. They hadn't even had sex yet. 

She smiled, her eyes getting that loving look in them. “I’m sure you two would make lovely parents.”

Sam was waiting for Gabe to get back, fidgeting with his fingers in the living room. He hoped and prayed that the salting and burning would be the end of it, although things hadn't been that easy in quite some time. Gabriel plopped back down on the seat with him, sitting as close as he could. 

“The cookies I promised are cooling off right now. I’ll bring them as soon as they've cooled off enough to eat.” Roxanna smiled and Alex brought Rosy down the stairs. She was adorable. A little curly haired brunette, she had eyes that were hazel like Sam’s. Rosy was giggling and smiling. 

“Would you like to hold her?” Alex asked and Sam raised his eyebrows, finding it hard to believe that someone he just met would just let him hold their baby. 

“Sure—I’d be honored.” Sam smiled and gently held his long arms out to take her. With that, Alex gently handed her to Sam who supported her head and cradled her in his arms, just looking down at that adorable face. At least she wouldn't be harmed if things went sideways. The ghost had never killed any babies in the past that they'd heard of. 

Gabe didn’t want a baby previously— the things always reminded him of howler monkeys and they were messy and loud in the worst of situations, but when he saw Sam holding the baby like that, he decided that he needed one. The angel smiled and cuddled up close to him. 

“We should adopt, Sam.” Gabriel spoke, which caused Sam to almost chuckle, forgetting that they were playing a role. 

“You really think so? Would I be a good father?” Sam asked and Gabe nodded. 

“You look like a natural to me.”

Roxanna smiled as Gabriel said that, picturing them with a baby girl of their own. She knew they would be a great addition to the neighborhood. Too bad they weren't actually moving in. 

Dean and Cas had just gotten out of the pimpmobile at the graveyard seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Then again, graveyards were always deceivingly quiet, considering the amount of cases they had cracked in them. The sun was just starting to go down. 

“Do you think any of us will ever have a life like that?” Cas asked softly, getting a shovel out of the back of the car. After a moment, the eldest hunter spoke up. 

“Honestly, Cas, I don't think we will. You know what the hunter’s life is like. I don't think I could ever settle down again. Even when I was with—“ He cut himself off, remembering that he didn’t talk about Lisa and Ben. Cas was still a bit jealous when he brought them up. 

“I know— but assuming that we did somehow beat all of the evil in the world, is that something you would want?” Castiel countered, glancing over to Dean as he took in his strong profile. 

“I dunno. I mean, getting a real job, living in a white picket fence house? Kids? Hell, adoption is expensive. We have literally no real money other than what we make from hustling everyone.” Dean explained as he broke ground on the grave and Cas nodded. 

“You’re right.” The angel agreed, even though he secretly wanted that apple pie life with Dean. Maybe that wasn’t meant for them. 

“C’mon. Let’s just take it slow. It took me this long to tell you how I feel.” Dean huffed softly and Cas immediately dropped the subject. He didn’t want to put them back any in their relationship.

Inside the house, Gabriel was now swaddling Rosy in a pink blanket in his arms. Looking into her big hazel eyes, he actually cooed and gently rocked her. It was like he had that instinct inside of him. He did help raise Cas as a fledgling, so he had a little bit of experience. He was incredibly careful, afraid he might break her, even though that wasn’t true. 

“You two would make great parents.” Alex commented with a smile as he saw Gabe’s look of bliss.

That was when the lights started to flicker. The whole living room dropped at least ten degrees, the younger hunter able to see his breath. Gabe had been holding Rosy in his arms, so he kept her close, knowing that he could keep her safe in case of an emergency. He didn’t have enough juice to do anything drastic, but he could at least save the baby. Sam had looked to Gabriel and they met eyes as if communicating mentally. Sam grabbed the salt out of the messenger bag he'd brought in, scattering it in a circle as fast as he could around the five of them. 

“W-What’s going on?” Roxanna asked, clearly scared and confused by the whole situation.

“Roxanna— Alex, we need you to both calm down and stay in this circle for us. Its really hard to explain, but we both want whats best for you. There is a woman’s spirit who is out to get young couples and we’re protecting you from her.” Sam tried to explain calmly. 

“Oh— fuck that. You two are insane. You need to leave this house immediately.” Alex spoke and he stood up, taking the baby back from Gabriel. 

The angel’s eyes widened as they were kicked out of the house. Sam called Dean. 

“Things are falling apart fast here, Dean.” Sam admitted and Dean scowled, having broken a sweat, his shovel hitting the top of the wooden coffin. 

“We’re about to salt and burn right now” Dean spoke and handed the phone to Castiel, busting the lid off of the coffin.

Sam couldn’t sit there and wait for the apparition to kill the baby, so he stormed to the door with the sawed off shotgun. He easily kicked the door in. “This is for your own safety.” He spoke gruffly and aimed at the apparition before him. He took a shot and she didn’t disappear. He looked to Gabe and the angel’s eyes widened. 

“Dean and Cas should be burning the body any minute now..” Sam reminded him Gabe raised his eyebrows. 

“Can they hurry it up?” Gabe asked, exasperated. Sam huffed and tried the other weapons he had. No luck. 

Back at the graveyard, Dean used his zippo lighter after pouring gas on the bones and— nothing. The corpse burned, but she was still standing before Sam, as pissed off as ever. 

“Gabe— Call Dean— we missed something!” Sam called out and Gabe called Dean as Sam frantically tried to keep her away from the couple. She was fighting back hard as she threw the giant hunter against the bookcase. “SAM!” Gabe yelled and his eyes widened as he explained to Dean what was going on. 

“Is there a— like a museum or something? With her possessions?” Cas guessed, Dean driving them towards the middle of the town. “She was a member of the Roanoke Colony, so you would think that she might have some sort of altar built in her remembrance.” He suggested.

“I dunno, but this bitch is more persistent than the last guy I met from Grindr.” Gabe admitted, running back in to make sure the couple was okay, pulling out his angel blade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! As always, comments, suggestions, and kudos are much appreciated! I love you all!


	14. Another Broken Thing Like Us

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a little surprise update! To everyone who left kind comments, this update goes out to you guys. I keep writing because of your support. <3

Dean and Cas rolled up to the museum, Cas having found the only Roanoke museum in town. It was closed because they ran strange hours, so Dean broke in without second though, looking around at the plaques on the wall intently. 

“Adeline—Adeline—“ He mumbled to himself, looking for her name. 

Meanwhile, Sam and Gabe were trying desperately to keep the family safe. The ghost woman lifted the husband up, his feet desperately trying to find flat ground. Gabriel tried to stab her with his angel blade, realizing it didn’t work— he felt stupid for that one. Once she had Alex in her claws, she snapped his neck like a twig. Roxanna screamed and Rosy started to cry, sensing her mother’s distress. Sam stood up and hurried over to Roxanna, his heart racing. Gabe headed for the baby, cradling her close. 

Roxanna tried to run upstairs, but the spirit grabbed her by her ankle, holding on tightly. Sam shot Adeline with his sawed-off, but nothing happened. It was like she was immune. 

“Adeline!” Dean called out back at the museum in a moment of epiphany and grabbed the journal that once belonged to her. He immediately grabbed a tin trash can and set it on fire, tossing it inside. 

Adeline grabbed Roxanna and pulled her down the stairs, her head hitting the hard corner of the railing, killing her instantly. Sam’s eyes widened and he gasped right as he missed catching her. Adeline started to burn and she screamed, trying desperately to grab the baby out of Gabriel’s arms as she disappeared, her fingertips dancing with hellfire. Both the hunter and his angel were stunned, flinching as Sam’s phone rang. Fumbling with the screen, he slid the answer answer slider over. 

“Dean?” Sam spoke softly, out of breath as he held his head. 

“Yeah? Is she gone?” Dean asked and Sam looked to Gabe who was still clinging to the crying baby girl.

“About that. She’s gone but— but so are Roxanna and Alex.” Sam spoke softly, actually stuttering. “I don’t know what to do. I mean, we’ve got this baby—and Roxanna told us that they were both orphans as children— it’s how they met.” Sam swallowed softly and Gabe looked down at the baby, cradling her head. 

Dean frowned from the other side of the phone. 

“Are you suggesting—? You’re out of your mind, Sam. We can’t take the baby. We’re not an orphanage.” Dean’s tone was harsh and Gabe looked to Sam with puppy dog eyes. 

“I’ll take care of her.” He spoke adamantly, having calmed her down. He didn’t even know where that offer had come from. It was almost like an out of body experience. “Look. She’ll be an orphan if we leave her. If we keep her, at least she’ll have people that care about her.”

Sam looked at him like he was out of his mind. 

“A baby? You think we can all raise a baby?” Sam was shocked to hear it. 

“Hey—I changed a lot of figurative shitty diapers for Cas, so yes.” Gabe spoke smugly, holding her close. “She’ll be loved. She doesn't have to be anyone else’s responsibility. I can raise her by myself. Her guardian angel.” 

Shocked to hear that too, the youngest hunter just looked at him, shaking his head. 

“Fine— lets just get out of here. We’ll meet you back at the motel.” Sam spoke to Dean and hung up while Gabriel headed upstairs. Turning, Sam didn’t understand what he was doing. “What are you doing?” 

“I’m getting supplies. She’s going to need diapers and formula and all that jazz, so—“ Gabe trailed off as he grabbed things and put them into a baby bag. 

“So we’re really doing this, hm? Sam asked softly to himself and shook his head. Putting his hands up, resting them behind his head, he glanced up to where Gabe was scurrying around. 

In a few moments, Gabe was back down carrying the baby in one arm and her bag in the other. 

“Look, I know this whole situation is shitty, but she won’t have a family if we leave her.” Gabe spoke softly, holding her against his shoulder. He knew the feeling of having no one—and he didn’t want her to go through that like he did. He was still practically a fledgling when he ran away. 

Rosy stayed quiet, sleeping on the way back to the motel. Sam was silent on the ride back, which made Gabriel a little nervous. He had assumed when Sam said he wanted kids back there that he wasn’t just acting the role of husband to Gabriel. Now, he wasn’t so sure, and for some reason, that scared him out of his mind. Could he be a single father to the baby? Was the dream of a family with Sam just a bunch of bullshit? Getting out, he grabbed the bag and headed in with Sam. Dean eyed the baby with disdain. 

“It can’t fight for itself. This kind of life isn't safe for a baby.” Dean spoke gruffly. 

“ _She_ , Dean. Rosy can’t fight for herself, not yet. We can teach her.” Gabe spoke up for her gently. 

“Oh, like our dad did with us? That’s no life for a human baby, Gabriel!” Dean spoke coldly, his tone causing Gabe to flinch slightly. 

“What, so because your dad was a jackass, you're going to assume I’ll be one too?” Gabe fired back and Dean practically shot across the room at him, Sam stepping in between them. 

“Both of you. Stop. Dean’s right, we need to take it to an orphanage. It was fun entertaining the thought of having a baby with us, but its safer for her with people like her.” Sam spoke, which caused Gabriel to visibly wilt. 

“Fine.” Gabe huffed softly and looked down, heading to take his side of the bed, rocking Rosy in his arms. 

“We’re dropping her off at an orphanage tomorrow.” Dean clarified and no one said a word. Cas just stayed quiet, even though he could see the pain on Gabe’s face when Sam said they should drop the baby off. 

“We could use some beer, don't you think?” Castiel brought up, rather uncharacteristically. 

“Uh— I guess. Sam and I are going to get beer.” Dean spoke, taking the hint as he grabbed Sam before he could protest. 

Once they left in the Impala, Cas walked over to Gabriel, cautiously taking a seat beside him.

“Why the baby fever all of the sudden, brother?” Cas inquired and the archangel chuckled softly, almost bitterly. 

“I’ve never fallen for anyone like this—like I am for Sam. Y’know, I was kind of hoping that he'd be on board with adopting her, but I guess it’s too soon for that, hm?” Gabriel sighed softly. 

“Hey— this isn't the end. You can always make one with him through mating.” The younger angel pointed out rather unhelpfully. 

“Okay, look. For me, not that interested in having a biological child like that. For one, I don't want to freak Sam the hell out, and for two, I didn’t even want a kid before this. Then I saw her—and the opportunity has arisen and now I just want to raise her with Sam.” He laughed softly after he said that. “He doesn't want that, and it’s stupid to rush something like that.” 

He was shutting down, and Cas could see it happening before his eyes. 

“Hey— hey, you don’t know that, you haven't talked to him.” Cas tried to point out, trying to find a way to cheer him up. 

“I heard all I needed to.” Gabe spoke softly. 

In the Impala, Sam stayed quiet, fidgeting with his fingers as he tried his best not to look up.

“You know we have to do this. If we don’t drop the kid off, we’re going to raise another broken thing like us.” Dean pointed out, his tone less harsh than before. 

“I just— seeing Gabriel so excited, it took me back. I haven't seen him that excited probably ever. He seems confident that he can raise the child.” Sam tried to explain. 

“You’re his boyfriend, dude. Do you want to have a potential child?” Dean asked and kept his eyes on the road, relaxed back in his seat. 

“I don’t know.” Sam sighed. 

“Cas told me a long time ago about how angels can have kids— like sponges, y’know? I mean, they still need a partner for sex, but either sex can have a baby. You think there’s any truth to that?” The oldest hunter asked, curious. ”I mean, am I freaked out, am I aroused? I dunno.”

Sam scrunched his nose up in response to that. 

“Really?” Sam asked, his face still similar to a pug at that moment. “I mean— I don't know.” Sam shrugged. 

“Wait—“ Dean grew suddenly serious. “You haven't had sex yet? You haven't had sex and you’re considering raising a stranger’s baby with him?” 

“Look, it’s not _all_ about sex, Dean.” Rolling his eyes in response, he huffed.

“Well— what if he's shitty in bed?” The other quipped.

“Then I’ll take him. Shitty in bed and all.” Sam spoke, getting tired of the line of questioning. 

“ _Okay_. Okay. I guess I’d do the same for Cas.” Dean chuckled.

“You mean Cas would do the same for you.” Sam sassed and Dean nudged him playfully. 

Once they got back, everyone was simmering down and getting ready for bed. Cas had gotten a shower and Gabe was wearing his ridiculous ‘Carolina’ top, holding Rosy in his arms. The next morning felt like it was dragging on forever. Gabriel fed Rosy some formula and he looked at her longingly. Sam caught the looks Gabe was giving the baby and he felt guilty. They packed their things, getting into the Impala, and Castiel hopped into the Pimpmobile going to return it before they left. Dean rode with him and Sam drove the Impala, letting Gabe ride shotgun. Pulling up to the orphanage, Gabriel sighed softly to himself, biting his lip slightly as he reached for the door handle. 

Swallowing thickly, Sam looked down, and then right back up. “Wait.” 

After it seemed like Gabe didn’t hear him, he spoke again. “ _Wait_!”

Gabriel turned, and when he met Sam’s eyes, his own were glistening slightly with tears. Sam felt his heart breaking. 

“Get your ass back in the car.” Sam spoke commandingly, but at the same time gentle. He never swore. 

Gabe sat back down. “But you said—“

“I know what I said, but I changed my mind. If you want to raise the baby, then count me in.” Sam answered quietly, looking into her little hazel eyes. “I’ll change diapers, teach her to read, whatever it entails.”

The archangel was shocked, his mouth practically agape as he listened to Sam. “What changed your mind?” 

“I uh— I thought it over last night. I’m getting older. I’ve been looking for a way out of this life and maybe this is it, y’know? I know it never stops, but maybe Cas and Dean can handle it?” The younger hunter pointed out as he started to drive off. “We’re meeting Cas and Dean at the old school.” 

Gabriel nodded and kept the baby close, cooing to her. 

“You wanna be our baby?” Gabe asked softly, which caused Sam to give a genuine smile. 

“Roslyn Winchester.” Sam spoke softly. “Roslyn Madison Winchester.” 

Gabriel didn’t know the significance of the name, but Sam did. She was named after Madison, the werewolf Sam couldn’t save. She was brave and beautiful, and everything Sam hoped Roslyn would grow up to be. It only seemed right that the one they could actually save be named after her. Pulling up to the school, Dean raised his eyebrows as he saw the baby.

“I’ll be damned.” Dean spoke to himself, which caused Castiel to smile. 

“We have a new niece, it appears.” Castiel pointed out, cooing to her as he got in the car, taking his place in the backseat. 

As Dean took his place in the driver’s seat, Sam urged Cas to take his place beside Dean. Sam wanted to sit close to his new family. The hunter could see a bright future ahead of them, and he couldn’t wait to see what she grew up to be like. She would be fierce and loving, caring and book-smart, just like her two new dads.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this is everything everyone hoped for! I got comments related to Sam and Gabe being parents and I really wanted to spill the beans, but I kept it a secret. Teehee. As always, comments, suggestions and kudos are always welcome and appreciated! I love you guys!


	15. Pornstar Mama Gabriel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this one out in a week! I've been so inspired lately. :)

Once they'd gotten back to the bunker after making it through quite a few diaper changes and Dean’s unavoidable scowl because he couldn’t crank the radio loud, Sam frantically rushed around. 

“Sam is nesting.” Cas pointed out and Gabriel laughed softly, watching him scurrying around to try and fix things up for the baby. 

“Gabe. It’s an emergency. We don't have a crib.” He spoke softly as he stopped in front of the archangel. 

“It’s okay, I can just try to poof one up if my grace isn't too low.” Gabe assured him. “Just breathe. This isn't a test, its just taking it one day at a time.”

“She’s a baby, Gabriel. She is definitely a test. If we mess up, then—” Sam was in the middle of rambling his fears when Gabe simply smiled and leaned in, kissing him to shut him up. 

“Breathe.” The shorter male echoed once more and Sam smiled, cheeks flushing pink. 

“I’m sorry, I’m just new to this and everything is making me nervous. I want to be a good guardian, parent, er—“ Sam stammered slightly. 

“Dad.” Gabe found the right word for him. 

Sam swallowed, remembering how their dad had been to them. He hadn't been the best father, but then again, he'd been blinded by grief over losing their mother. However upset he'd been by that, their dad alienating Sam as the cause of her death often left the younger Winchester feeling less than and above all, frustrated. He didn’t ever want Roslyn to feel that way. 

“Yeah. So uh— are you going to be ‘papa’ and me ‘dad’? Or you ‘dad’ and me ‘papa’?” Sam asked, still stressing out over the small stuff. 

“Look. I’ll make it easy for you. I’ll be ‘mama’. You be ‘dad’. I was always like a mom to all of the lower level angels, so I don’t mind that term— and we always called dad ‘papa’.” The angel explained, but it wasn’t because of reverence. It was because of how much he had come to dislike how their father handled their family. ‘Papa’ left a bad taste in his mouth. 

Castiel was grabbing Dean a beer and himself a juice box. It wasn’t that he felt like he had to drink juice boxes, he just liked the taste. Beer wasn’t a great taste to him unless it was on Dean’s lips— that was the only exception. 

“Don’t you just love all of the family-talk going on?” Cas asked in a teasing tone, testing out the waters as he walked over and handed the beer to Dean. 

“Yeah— its a little strange to be honest. I always pictured Sam as the one with the kids anyway, but it’s weird.” Dean admitted. “Porn star mama Gabriel over here.” 

Cas actually laughed softly when he heard that. 

“I didn’t picture Gabe as wanting kids, especially since he spent so much time with us fledglings— letting us pull on his wings and catching us when we fell out of the sky.” The angel reminisced. 

“Just seems too good to be true though. Like it’s too happy around here and we’ll wake up and something bad will happen.” Dean sighed softly and took a swig out of his beer. 

Standing up, the youngest hunter decided to turn in for the night. 

“Stay with me tonight?” Castiel asked, biting his lip slightly because he thought he might get turned down. 

“Sure. We’ll let the lovebirds have their own wing.” The hunter rolled his eyes playfully and stood up, grabbing his beer as he followed Cas back to his room. “Dude— you need to decorate more.” He mentioned as he noticed the bare bones room.

“How so? I’m always too busy saving you and Sam.” Cas grinned and the hunter shot him a playful glare.

“Fine— I deserved that one.” Dean admitted and sat his beer on the nightstand, kicking off his clunky boots. Laying back, he still laid there in his full outfit minus the shoes.

“This isn't easy for you, is it?” Can asked, making the first move. 

Dean wanted to play dumb, but Cas knew him deep down. “No—and it’s pissing me off. Any day I’d be out at the bar picking up chicks, but with you, I can’t even ask you on a proper date.” Dean chuckled bitterly. 

“Maybe it’s because this time is different. I’d hope that I actually mean something to you.” Cas spoke softly, feeling a little confused.

“Of course you do, Cas. I just wish things came easier around you.” Dean admitted and Castiel scooted closer, loosening his tie a little bit. 

Ghosting his hand over Dean’s thigh, he pushed his luck. “Things don't have to be as hard as you make them.” 

The hunter felt his cheeks heating up and his emerald eyes flickered from Castiel’s hand back up to his eyes. 

“We doin’ this?” Dean asked, his gruff voice a bit softened.

Cas didn’t wait before he'd pulled Dean in for a kiss, lips meeting Dean’s soft lips as he tasted remnants of the piney tasting beer he'd been drinking. The hunter’s hand went to Cas’ tie, pulling it loose. His other hand started to explore, unbuttoning Cas’ white shirt so he could finally touch him as he'd been wanting to for an eternity. Cas’ hands were busy cupping Dean’s cheeks as the taller male hurried to get the layers of clothing off the both of them. To say sparks flew between them wouldn't even come close. Their passion felt brighter than the hottest star in existence. It was raw and burning and it was pain, and it left them both in tears, cradling each other like they might fall apart if they let go. Dean cradled Cas’ head as the angel’s head laid gently on his chest, their hearts beating like two hummingbirds. 

“Am I different?” Cas asked as he traced small patterns on Dean’s exposed chest.

“Hell yeah—” Dean whispered, almost inaudibly. 

******

Gabriel cradled Rosy in his arms, the younger hunter just watching as he perched on the chair that went with the desk in his room. 

“It still hasn't hit me that she's ours.” Sam admitted and Gabriel nodded in agreement. 

The archangel gently snapped his fingers, careful not to wake the baby as he managed to conjure a crib for her to sleep in. Once it was there, Gabe gently got up and walked the sleeping baby to it, laying her down. 

“She’s so perfect.” Gabe murmured, almost jumping as Sam wrapped his arms around him from behind. The archangel still wasn’t able to get past the Asmodeus torture, but he was certainly making progress. 

“Sorry…” Gabriel immediately apologized, even though it wasn’t his fault. 

“No, I’m sorry for scaring you.” Sam apologized with his big dopey smile. Sam turned to move away but Gabriel stopped him.

“It’s fine— I like it when you’re near me.” The angel grinned and leaned back into his big strong arms. 

The hunter rested his chin on Gabriel’s shoulder, looking at their baby girl from his tall point of view. He actually teared up a little when he remembered that she was their daughter now. It was a lot of responsibility, yes, but he had always wanted a family. If it wasn’t a conventional family, so what? He didn’t live the conventional suburban dad life. 

“So you're mama angel and I’m daddy?” Sam asked with a grin on his lips, causing Gabe to blush, though he tried in vain to hide it from him. 

“Daddy Moose.” Gabe added and Sam rolled his eyes playfully. 

“Where did you even hear that from?” The hunter asked and kept his arms around Gabriel’s middle, keeping him close. 

“Maybe Crowley has looser lips than you think.” The angel spoke, an amused expression on his face. “Besides, I like it. I think it really suits you. You’re tall and you’re—“

“Aggressive? Hairy?” Sam asked, thinking he caught Gabriel with his foot in his mouth. 

“No, you’re tall and you’re built like a fucking brick house.” The angel explained and Sam laughed softly.

“Language.” Sam teased and looked back down to her. “We’re so lucky. I’m sorry I ever suggested dropping her off at the orphanage. I just got scared. I didn’t want the hunter lifestyle to be pushed on someone without it being their choice.” He explained and Gabriel gently guided him over to the bed. 

“I understand that. I know it can’t be a cakewalk trying to explain all of this to a little girl. When the time comes, we’ll have to train her to defend herself. There’s no doubt about it. For now, we let her be little. She’s just a baby—and we’ve got time to think about it.” Gabe spoke softly to him. “I know that you’re scared to end up like your dad, but you’re not like that. You’re Sam fucking Winchester, and you are not going to let that little girl grow up thinking that she's any less than the whole universe to us.” 

The hunter felt tears welling in his eyes yet again. It was so hard to understand what the right decisions were when raising a child. He still felt like a kid himself, even though he was approaching his forties. He wished he could take back that childlike innocence—but that was one guarantee of the world. No one would be handing out easy ride tickets. What was guaranteed, however, was that he could love the child as much as possible and give her the best home with he and Gabriel. Would that mean the end of hunting?

******  
[ A few weeks later ]

“You’re going to _what_?!?” Dean gruffly shouted.

Sam actually flinched at his tone, used to their father yelling at them when they were children. The way he'd behaved like a drill sergeant to them had never left Sam’s mind even after all that time. 

“Look, I want to raise this kid with Gabriel. She needs to be safe.” Sam tried to reason with him. 

“That damn baby! I told you to leave her at the orphanage Sam. She’s going to tear what we have left of a family apart.” Dean countered, actually slamming his hands down on the table. 

“Dean, she is _my_ baby now. I don’t give a damn about what happened in the past. This is now and I’m telling you that she's safer without her parents putting themselves and her in danger.” Sam spoke, his tone a lot harsher. 

“If you’re going to give up our relationship over a goddamn baby we picked up off the road, then you can walk out that fucking door and never come back. I thought that family was different— family is about being there for each other.” Dean raged, his eyes full of hurt. 

“Family don’t end—” Sam started and Dean cut him off.

“Don’t you fucking finish that. You don't deserve to.” Dean spoke harshly. 

Gabriel and Castiel were out with Roslyn, taking a walk in the park. 

“I thought you cared about my happiness.” Sam countered and Dean shook his head.

“Not if it means running off with Gabriel over being with your brother.” The oldest hunter frowned. 

Sam clenched his fists, turning his back. 

“If that’s the case— and you're going to let jealousy get in between us, then I think leaving is best.” Sam spoke and walked back to his room, slamming the door so he could pack up his things. 

As Gabriel walked back into the bunker with Castiel, they both came inside to an air of tenseness. Dean was bracing himself on the counter. The younger angel walked over to him, biting his lip slightly. 

“I’m so sorry, Dean. I know I should have told you sooner.” Cas apologized softy. “I just didn’t know how to tell you—I know you didn’t want a family.”

Dean frowned as he heard those words uttered. His heart started to race as he thought about what Castiel could possibly be talking about.

“Tell me what?” Dean frowned, his brows furrowed.

“I—”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the cliffhanger! The secret is just so juicy! Thank you all for reading and as always, comments, suggestions, and kudos are appreciated. I love you all!


	16. It's Celestial Science, Numbskull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is late because I was participating in Sabriel Week. Enjoy! :)

Gabriel and Cas had been walking through the park while Sam and Dean argued at the bunker, Rosy strapped to Gabriel’s chest. Castiel seemed troubled and Gabriel could sense it, having been close to him throughout most of his life. 

“Cassie, what’s wrong?” He asked as they started on the path. 

“You know how angels are different from humans?” Cas started after a moment of hesitation and Gabriel couldn’t help but laugh. 

“What— because we have wings and grace? Yeah.” Gabe shrugged. 

“No— it’s more complicated than that. Do you remember when I told you about how you could have biological children with Sam if you wanted to, through the mating? After he’d asked, Cas chewed his lip nervously. 

The archangel furrowed his brows and then his eyes widened right after. 

“Wait a second. Why are you bringing this up? Does it pertain to you?” Gabe asked, letting Cas explain before he made assumptions.

“I messed up, Gabe. I really messed up. Dean—he and I partook in intercourse a few weeks ago.” Cas admitted, having stopped them on their walk at a bridge.

Gabe snorted a little. “So the problem is that you had sex? I wish I had that problem.” 

Cas frowned, brows furrowed. He was getting upset.

“Gabriel, I’m being serious. He was touching my wings and all of that and everything was moving so fast, and I think I might be with child.” Castiel explained, his words running together. 

Gabe hesitated for a moment as he looked at his younger brother. 

“Well did you try to find out with your grace? I mean, I don't think getting knocked up is possible unless certain conditions are met.” Gabe tried to reason, thinking about it as he bounced Rosy in the carrier. 

“I am too upset right now to find out, but I feel different, I feel like things aren't right with my body.” Cas huffed and Gabriel tried to think logically. 

“I don’t think you should tell him unless you're sure. It could be bad takeout or something and you're just overreacting.” Gabe shrugged, Rosy tugging gently at the tips of his curly hair. 

“I don’t just feel like this any day, _Gabriel_. What if it’s weird to him? If one of us carried the baby, I feel like it should be him.” Cas rambled and Gabriel chuckled, shaking his head. 

“Bro, just slow your roll. First of all, _if_ you are preggo, then we worry about the rest. Dean’s a kinky bitch, so I doubt it'll be the weirdest thing he's ever seen.” The archangel smiled. 

Castiel had really worked himself up into a frenzy about it. 

“I saw how he was around you when you wanted to keep Rosy. If it’s me—what if he’s the same way?” Cas asked softly and Gabriel shook his head. 

“Like I said, worry about it later.” 

******

“I think I might be with child, Dean.” Castiel blurted out and Dean looked at him with wide eyes. 

Sam was still in his room, throwing his shit into a bag as furiously as he could, brushing his fingers through his hair as a sign of frustration. Gabe could hear the ruckus, so he rushed back to check on Sam. That left Cas do deal with Dean. 

Dean laughed loudly, causing Castiel to flinch. 

“There’s no way, angel. We’re two men.” Dean’s brows were furrowed in confusion, thinking it was a joke. “I’m not in the mood.” 

“Dean, its hard to explain, but angels can get pregnant too. We are genderless technically and we have the capabilities of— yeah.” 

Dean ran his hands through his hair and shook his head. 

“Cas, I really don't have the time for this.” The hunter shook his head and Cas looked defeated, heading back to his room without another word. 

Gabriel had made it back to their room, his eyes widening on the duffle bag of Sam’s things that he was hastily packing. 

“Woah—where are you going, Sam?” Gabe asked with concern, his eyes traveling up to the flustered hunter.

“I can’t stay here with Dean anymore. This kind of environment isn't good for a baby. I want to get out of hunting, and I don't want it to be because I lose one or both of you.” Sam spoke decidedly. Gabe was speechless. 

“So are you leaving us too?” Gabe asked, ready to fight him over it.

“No, just here. This bunker. I can’t do it anymore.” Sam repeated and Gabriel walked over to the crib, gently laying Rosy down first before walking back over to his hunter. 

“Hey.” Gabe started, cupping his cheeks as he looked into his eyes. “You don't have to run away just because of this. Give it time and think it over so you can make a smart decision.”

It was shocking to hear Gabe becoming the voice of reason. 

“I just can’t stay here. Dean has been nothing but bitter since we brought Roslyn here.” Sam tried to explain and Gabe sighed.

“Where would we go, Sam? She needs a steady home—we have no money. Nothing.” Gabe frowned and looked up into those sunflower eyes, searching them. “We can’t just run away. We have to figure this out like adults.” The angel spoke softly and leaned in to steal a kiss. “Please.”

Sam nodded after a moment and put the bag back down on the bed. 

“I can’t believe you're the one making rational sense right now out of the two of us.” Sam chuckled and a grin spread across his lips.

“That’s my moose.” He cooed, tiptoeing to kiss him once more. “Since you're alright— I need to check on Cas. He thinks he's pregnant and thinks it'll ruin Dean’s life if that’s true.” 

Sam’s eyes were wide as he tried to process what he was just told. Gabriel didn’t wait, rushing back into the main room, seeing Dean standing there alone. 

“What the hell did you say to Cas, Dean?” He asked, his eyes narrowed like the protective older brother he was. 

“He’s off his rocker. Angels and being pregnant? He's a guy, Gabriel. You can’t seriously be buying into the that shit.” Dean countered and Gabe looked at him with a blank expression. 

“It’s celestial science, numbskull. He very well could be and he's delicate right now. If you hurt him, I swear to Chuck—” Gabriel started and Dean huffed, holding up his hands in defence.

“Fine. I’ll go talk to him.” He spoke, finally giving in as he walked back to Cas’ room. 

Knocking on the door, he actually heard sniffling. Had he ever seen Cas cry? He couldn’t remember, so his facial expression softened, realizing it was the real deal. 

“Cassie?” Dean muffled softly through the door. He heard Cas’ sniffles get quiet and he felt bad for tearing into him like that earlier. “Look—earlier, I was a jackass. I didn’t realize it was a real thing. We’ll figure it out if you are, y’know. I mean, I’m not just going to leave you out in the cold.” 

Upon hearing that, the angel wiped his tears, biting his lip because he was anxious. 

“Do you mean that? If we end up having a nephilim, are you going to be here? Or are you going to choose the job over me?” Castiel asked in a small voice. 

“Cas, just let me in so we can talk about this face to face.” The hunter spoke softly and Cas padded over to the door, opening it up to see him face to face. 

Dean just pulled him into a hug out of impulse, not wanting him to be in pain. He saw the tear stained cheeks and his blue eyes filled with tears. It was upsetting him that he'd caused his angel that much pain. 

“Like I said, we’ll figure it out if it’s true.” Dean echoed. 

“You didn’t answer my question.” Cas spoke into his shoulder, feeling a bit cold because he thought Dean might choose the job over him. 

“Cas, I would never leave you over the job. You are part of my life just like this job is.” Dean spoke matter-of-factly, which was apparently the wrong answer.

“Dean, I can’t do this right now.” Cas spoke and pulled away, heading to Gabriel once more. 

******

Once the two angels were in a room together, Gabriel snapped up a pregnancy test for him. 

“Hey— no matter what happens, I’m here for you. I’m your brother and I’m never going to leave you.” The archangel reminded him and Cas disappeared into the bathroom. 

Coming back out, he handed the test to Gabriel to read first. 

“You want me to tell you?” Gabe asked and Cas gave a solemn nod. 

“It’s negative.” Gabe smiled a little. “I told you that you were paranoid.”

Cas breathed a sigh of relief. 

“Thank Chuck. I don't know what I would have done. We— Dean and I are not like you and Sam. I doubt he'd ever settle down over this job.” The younger angel frowned and Gabe felt for him. 

“Hey, you never know. He might surprise you, actually.” Shrugging, Gabriel turned to tend to Roslyn. She was whimpering softly like she needed some attention. 

“Part of me kind of wants a baby, but I know that’s unrealistic. If I wanted a child, I should have settled with a human like many of our kind have.” Cas mused and Gabriel shook his head.

“Cas, you weren't there in the beginning. Angels older than you—they went to earth and experimented with earthy pleasures. It ended up causing chaos— nephilim running around everywhere, and eventually there was a squadron of angels that were tasked to end them. Michael led the force under Chuck’s orders. Its best that we don't procreate.” Gabe explained and Cas was shocked, his eyes widening. 

“Why wasn’t I ever told?” The young angel asked.

“It was heavily covered up. He had to squash the free will rebellion. Killing children was something that would have looked extremely bad for his reputation, you know.” The archangel spoke and held Rosy close to his chest. “I’d rather just adopt like this and not have the chance of my child destroying the earth.”

The younger angel was worried when he heard that story and those remarks. He and Dean would have to be more careful. Who’s to say that Chuck wouldn't order out another squad if more nephilim than Jack were created? Maybe that was the train of thought that had led Gabriel to the ‘no children’ policy. He looked down at the ground, thanking the heavens above that he wasn’t with child. Maybe he was sterile— maybe Chuck had changed the angel’s anatomy that he'd created after that. 

“Hey, its no biggie. You didn’t know, Cas. It’s going to be okay. No harm, no foul.” Gabe pointed out and Cas shook his head.

“I think it exposed faults in our relationship.” Sighing, he took a seat on the bed, his big brother putting his arm around his shoulder. 

“Cas, you worry too much. You and Dean are inseparable—and I think that if it came down to it, Dean would definitely pick you over the job. I know he would.” 

Dark circles underlined Gabriel’s eyes because he'd been up all hours with the baby, but inside of his whiskey colored eyes, he was genuine. He was trying his best to help Castiel out. If anyone deserved happiness, it was his younger brother.

“You’ll get that happy ending you’ve been romanticizing for so long.” The older angel smiled and gently patted his back. “For now, you need to give him the cold shoulder. Show him what he'd be missing if you chose to take the high road rather than stay with him.” 

Cas’ eyes were innocent, his brows furrowed. “Why?”

“You have to get him to realize how amazing you are. A little reminder that he's got it made with you around. Hell—if you really want to see what he'd be like, you could tell him you are pregnant, just to test if he'd stay or not. You’ve got this.” 

Cas nodded, thinking about what he would do. Would he play coy and see if Dean would crawl back, or would he tell him he was pregnant just to see what he would say? Only time would tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I've been working on other works as well and small ficlets if you'd like to check them out on my page. Sabriel Week ficlets and a Jake Gyllenhaal x Reader fic. I will continue this one as well. As always, comments, suggestions and kudos are appreciated! I love you all!


	17. A Case of Moose Fever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took a while to get out, but thank you to everyone who reads this. I'm so very appreciative of all of you!

His mind made up with a choice that he knew could backfire terribly, the younger angel left Gabriel and Sam’s shared room with a sense of confidence. He didn’t need to hang onto everything Dean said or did. Cas was his own being and he could make his own decisions. Gabriel helped with conjuring up what was needed for his big move, and he was ready to go. Waltzing out in a pair of jeans and a v-neck navy t-shirt, he handed Dean the test. 

“I’m pregnant.” Castiel spoke like it was nothing. 

Dean didn’t know what to say at all. He was just in a state of complete shock. His jaw clenched and unclenched, eyes searching Cas’ oceans of blue to find the meaning behind all of it. 

“You’re— you can’t be serious, angel.” 

The hunter still wasn’t getting it, mainly still in denial about the whole thing. He wasn’t ready to be a dad. Not yet.

“I am. Here is the proof.” Cas spoke in a softer tone. 

“Wait… so I’m going to be a dad?” Dean asked, his mood having completely shifted from anger to intrigue. That was not what Cas expected at all. 

“Yes?” He answered, coming off as more of a question than an answer. 

“I mean, I— Cas, what if—“ Dean couldn’t even get it out, brushing his fingertips through his short hair. 

Gabriel was seated on the couch with Sam, having filled him in quietly on the plan. 

“That’s cruel though.” Sam whispered to Gabe. 

“It’s cruel what Dean did to him when he was vulnerable and scared, especially before he knew what the result was going to be.” Gabe pointed out, feeding Rosy a bottle of formula. “You were the same way and you came around.”

“Yeah, but you weren't _pregnant_. Also, Dean is different, Gabe. He spent a hell of a lot more time around Dad than I did. He’s a lot more… set in his ways.” Sam tried to explain and they simply eavesdropped as the conversation happened in the kitchen. Moose’s arm rested around Gabriel, seeming to have adjusted to his father and partner role very quickly. 

“You’d be a good dad, Dean, I know you would. You remember when I had to babysit that one baby? When I was trying to get a date as a human? You saved the day.” Cas mentioned and Dean chewed his lip nervously. 

“But that was one time. That wasn’t our kid. I’m not good with kids.” Dean frowned. 

“Why do you think that?” Castiel countered, his arms crossing in front of his chest. 

“Look, I’m done talking about this for right now. We’ll just figure it out, I guess.” The eldest hunter spoke, exasperated as he walked out of the kitchen and into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him. Cas leaned back against the counter, fighting back tears. Would Dean never want a family with him?

Noticing Cas’ distress, Sam stood up and walked over to where the angel was standing, clearing his throat slightly like he did when he was nervous. 

“Hey—uh— Cas, look. Dean is really complicated. I don't know how he works inside and I’ve been by his side since we were born. Maybe just give him some time. And contrary to what Gabe says, don't lie to him about the baby. Just tell him the truth and maybe you two can talk it out.” Sam suggested and shot Gabe a half-glare. 

Cas nodded and looked to Dean’s bedroom, walking over and giving a couple of gentle knocks to the door. 

“I said I need some time, Cas.” Dean spoke gruffly and Cas debated just leaving him to himself. 

“Dean, I need to talk to you. I lied. I thought that by telling you, it would clear things up for me, but it obviously didn’t.” Castiel admitted softly. He couldn’t lie to Dean. Not after how Dean had treated him when he'd gone behind his back before. 

After a few moments of silence, the doorknob turned and Dean was standing face to face with him. 

“Why did you lie?” Dean asked, his brows furrowed. 

“The way you acted when you thought I was actually pregnant—it scared me. I thought you would leave me. I don’t want you to leave me.” He was getting to the heart of the matter. The angel had fallen so hard for Dean, every day more and more since Castiel gripped him tight and raised him from perdition. His voice was even smaller.

Dean sighed softly, a look of annoyance dropping from his face as he enveloped Cas in a big hug. 

“Look.. Cas, you’re always going to be my angel. It’s just, like I told you the other day, its impossible for all of us to have lives outside of this work. It just is.” Dean tried his best to explain. “I don’t wanna put anyone else in danger. Our whole lives, we try and save people, but a lot of the time, we put more people in danger.” 

Cas held onto him tightly and he sighed softly too. “I hate fighting.”

“Me too, Angel.” Dean murmured. 

Gabriel waited a little while, giving them some space before he walked over with Rosy in his arms. 

“In light of this whole situation, do you two think you could handle Rosy for the night? Sam and I haven't really gotten to go on a date and I really want to take him somewhere special.” Gabe proposed and Dean narrowed his eyes at him. Castiel immediately agreed because he knew that Gabriel would do the same for him. 

******  
“Why are we wearing our FBI suits again?” Sam asked, pulling gently at his tie as Gabriel walked outside with him. 

“I told you, I found a case.” The angel piped up. 

“A case? So we get night to ourselves and you want to work a case? Look, when we invited you into our lives, we didn’t mean you had to wholeheartedly embrace the hunter experience.” Sam pointed out and Gabe shook his head. 

“Just hold onto me.” Gabe answered and looked up into Sam’s sunflower eyes with an expression that just said _trust me_. 

Sam raised his eyebrows and Gabriel’s wings unfurled, all three golden sets of them. Before the Sasquatch could say anything, the archangel had flown high into the atmosphere, laughing like a child as he held onto his taller partner. 

“GABE!” Sam cried out in what seemed like a panicked voice.

“Oh, sorry, I get kind of excited sometimes.” Gabe laughed and Sam clung to him like his life depended on it. He hoped and prayed that Gabe wouldn't let him fall. The flight felt like a million years to Sam. Once Gabriel arrived above the destination, he made Sam close his eyes. 

“Where are we? I thought you said we had a case.” Sam frowned a little, as if he was disappointed that there wasn’t one. 

“Well, I’ve got a case of Moose Fever if that counts.” The archangel joked and he landed, gently letting Sam down. “You can open them up.” 

Sam opened his eyes and he was overwhelmed with all kinds of sights and sounds—and smells. He could smell fresh bread and pastries, amazing wafts of five star food from restaurants. Next, he processed the fact that he was hearing French all around him. The biggest kicker? He was standing right in front of the Eiffel Tower, glittering with all of it’s nighttime lights. He blinked a bit, his jaw having already dropped. That was when his eyes filled with tears. 

“Are we in Paris?” Sam breathed softly and Gabe nodded. 

“Oui.” He grinned up at his tall boyfriend. “I know you always wanted to travel, so here we are. I couldn’t make it earlier because I had low juice, but I felt like tonight would be perfect.” 

Sam was completely speechless as he stood there and took in all of the sights and sounds, his heart fluttering like a hummingbird from the flight. 

“This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.” Sam admitted softly to Gabriel and the angel put an index finger up as if to say ‘just wait’. 

Taking Sam’s hand in his own, Gabriel walked with him to the restaurant about a block away where he'd made a reservation weeks ago. He’d really thought it all out and put planning into it. 

“Monsieur Winchester?” The host smiled as he looked up at the two of them. “Par ici.” 

The hunter was still flustered, his cheeks pink as he walked back with Gabriel to their table. There was already a bottle of wine waiting for them. Their table even had a view of the Eiffel Tower. 

“Wow—“ Sam shook his head in disbelief, not even wanting to question anything. Was he about to get proposed tonight or was this a normal date for Gabriel? Sam would have to step up his game. 

“I just wanted to show you the world. You do so much for it, it’s time the world gave something nice back to you, y’know?” The angel pointed out and the waiter came over, pouring them each a glass of wine. After Gabriel gave their orders in French, he grinned over at Sam triumphantly. “Don’t worry. I ordered something perfectly healthy for your inner health nut.” 

Sam rolled his eyes playfully and he gently took Gabriel’s hand once more over the table, gently smoothing his thumb over the top of Gabriel’s hand. He was actually a little nervous—it felt like he was a teenager again, falling for his first love. 

“I don’t deserve—“ Sam started and Gabriel shushed him. 

“Nope. I’ll be having none of that, Samshine. Just let me pamper you. Relax and just let yourself enjoy tonight, okay?” Gabe smiled and got lost in his sunflower eyes again. 

After just a brief wait, the waiter brought out their dishes; for Sam— Boeuf Bourguignon, and for Gabriel, Croque Monsieur. Sam smiled, thanking the waiter before he took a bite, smiling. He loved it. Seeing Gabriel’s dish, he couldn’t help but laugh softly. 

“Of course you got a glorified ham and cheese swimming in cheese.” Sam teased a little and Gabriel glared playfully at him. 

“The heart wants what it wants, Sammy. That’s you and grilled ham and cheese at the moment.” The angel grinned, the cheese stringing from his sandwich to his mouth as he tried to eat it like a civilized person. 

“At the moment?” Sam shot right back with a grin. 

“Ham and cheese at the moment. You—forever, my dear Moose.” Gabe mused with a smile on his lips. He knew when real happiness came knocking, you didn’t question it. You just take it in with a smile. 

“I was thinking I might just have you for a little while, then dump you for a kale salad.” Sam teased him, his eyes bright with love as he said that. 

“Oh, really? Well, that’s a damn shame, considering I brought this—“ Gabe smiled and reached in his pocket to pull something out. 

Sam was speechless for the second—or third time, he lost count— his eyes widening. Was Gabriel really about to pop the question?

The archangel chuckled softly and took his hand back out of his pocket. It was just a tease.

“You should see the look on your face right now, Sammy.” Gabe smiled, hoping he wouldn't think it was mean just to tease. 

“You’re a dick.” Sam laughed softly. “I was about to be as red as this tablecloth.” 

“I know, which is why I did it. All in due time, Samshine. I want the moment to be perfect. You’re worth so much more than what I can offer you. So until I can find some way of proposing that is worthy of you, we’ll just be going on dates like these. Making memories.” Gabriel smiled and leaned in halfway. The hunter leaned in to meet him the rest of the way. 

“You won’t have to worry about that because I’m the one proposing to you.” Sam murmured against his lips. 

“Not if I propose to you first—“ Gabe challenged. 

“This isn't a competition.” The hunter rolled his eyes playfully. 

“I know. You’ve already won.” The angel murmured against his lips, referring to Sam’s possession of his heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I hope that you enjoyed the fluff (and don't hate me too much for the proposal tease). Hehe. As always, comments, kudos, and suggestions are welcome! I love you all so much! :)


	18. Maybe Someday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! Sorry this is late, was preparing for uni and getting everything together. Now that my life is semi-together, enjoy!

“Are they supposed to be this stinky?” Cas inquired, his nose crinkling as he held Rosy up. 

Dean couldn’t help but laugh, watching Castiel with the baby.

“This— _this_ is why we shouldn’t have a baby.” Dean pointed out, just teasing.

“I don’t think they come with manuals. Seems a lot like the fledglings, except these need to be fed and changed and all of that.” The angel mused and Dean took over. 

“Look, I changed my share of Sammy’s diapers as a kid. I can handle it.” 

The hunter gently laid Rosy down on the bed, wrangling her squirming limbs as he managed to get the old diaper off, wiping her and getting her ready for the new one. Cas watched in order to learn, hoping maybe someday it would come in handy. He couldn’t help but daydream about what he and Dean’s kids would look like. He’d liked to imagine that they would have a little cherub with darling green eyes and freckles that dotted its cheeks like constellations. He’d be a little rowdy, sure, but Cas would teach him how to love the world and how to be kind to everyone—the emotional side of things. 

“Yes!” Dean exclaimed and held her up, bringing Cas out of his daydreaming session. “Record time, Cassie.”

Smiling, the angel gently took her back in his arms, cradling her. 

“Perfect. Under eight seconds, I think.” The angel teased and cooed softly to her. 

“We should have a night to ourselves—with her of course. Maybe we could watch a movie and have a little sleepover type thing.” Dean suggested, mainly because he felt bad for how he'd hurt Cas earlier. 

“It’ll have to be a Disney movie. No _Kill Bill_ or _Godfather_.” Cas pointed out and Dean rolled his eyes. 

“A little Disney never hurt anyone.” The hunter surprised him by saying matter-of-factly. 

******

In Paris, Gabriel and Sam’s cheeks were slightly rosy from the wine, their spirits lifted. Gabe held Sam’s hand and gently swung their arms as they walked the beautifully lit path to the Eiffel Tower.

“Gonna kiss me under the moonlight like a romance movie?” Gabe asked with a little curl to his lips. 

“Maybe if you ask nicely.” Sam quipped, smiling as he leaned in, kissing the top of his head as they walked inside. Taking the elevator up, Gabriel practically pulled him out onto the terrace. A little gasp escaped past the angel’s lips. 

“Look!” Gabe smiled and looked out over the city, trying to capture the image with his brain so he could keep it forever.

“Haven’t you been here before?” Sam asked as he stood by the railing, looking at the twinkling city lights. 

“Never like this.” Gabe breathed and stood pressed right up against the railing. 

“You ever seen the movie _Titanic_?” The angel asked with a soft grin on his lips. 

“I’ve lived it.” Sam breathed into his ear from behind as he stood behind him, his arms snaking around Gabriel so he could hold him close. 

“I’m flying, Sam!” Gabe exclaimed with a soft chuckle right after that, turning around in his arms. 

A slight breeze caught Sam’s cologne and it drifted to Gabriel’s nostrils, his heartbeat speeding up. Looking up at Sam like that, finally able to be with him the way he'd always dreamed of, it felt like it wasn’t real. Only one way to find out. Leaning up on his tiptoes, assisted by Sam lifting him up, he pressed his soft lips against Sam’s as eyelids fluttered shut. He confirmed what he knew all along. He was madly in love with Sam Winchester. One hand slid into Sam’s hair, feeling the other of Sam’s large hands cupping his cheek. They could make it work. He had no doubt in his mind at all. If they couldn’t, there was no hope for anyone else. Sam smiled into it, only pulling away once he was absolutely breathless. Someone whistled across from them and Gabriel felt his cheeks heating up. He was never embarrassed or shy around anyone—until Sam. 

Sam had a sheepish smile on his face as he took Gabe’s hand once more. 

“Are we staying here tonight?” The hunter asked and Gabe nodded. 

“Hells yeah.”

******

Cas and Dean’s night consisted of watching _Frozen_ , Dean getting teary during the movie and denying it later, and Cas and Dean cuddling up on the couch with Dean holding Rosy in his arms. 

“Gabe and Sam are really lucky, y’know.” Dean spoke softly, careful not to wake the sleeping baby. 

“Why is that?” Castiel asked, tilting his head slightly. 

“She’s really sweet. She’s gonna be one hell of a badass when she grows up. Between her archangel dad and her hunter dad, she's gonna be great. I know Sam will be a good father. He’s done everything he can not to turn into our dad.” Dean explained softly, the low rumble of his voice actually soothing Rosy deeper into sleep. 

Cas nodded, thinking about the baby girl with soft brunette curls growing up to have Sam’s love for books and Gabe’s sass. They’d all be in so much trouble. 

“You know what else, though?” Dean spoke up and Cas glanced back up into his warm green eyes. “I’m pretty damn lucky too. I mean, for one, I’ve got a whole family here to turn to. Everyone who knows about the supernatural. For two, we’ve got a bunker that’s safe for us to be living in. I’m super grateful for not having to sleep in a sex shack room.” Dean chuckled softly and so did Cas. “You know what I’m most grateful for?” 

Cas watched him. “What?”  
“You.” Dean answered softly and Cas’ brows furrowed. “Without you, I would still be in Hell. Hell, without you, I would have been dead like five times over. You’ve saved our bacon more times than I can really count. Most of all—without you, I wouldn't know what real love is like. Sure—over the years I thought that real love was loyalty to family. That’s a part of it, but real love is caring about the other person. It’s about not wanting to go to bed mad at the other person because you can’t imagine living one damn day mad at them. It’s about the fact that you care more about them than you do about yourself.” 

The angel was actually tearing up as he listened to Dean talking about their love. 

“And dammit Cas, I wish I had told you a lot sooner.” 

Castiel gently pulled him close, cupping Dean’s cheek so he could kiss him. Dean felt himself tearing up slightly and he actually shed a single tear as they kissed. Cas’ heart was pounding, nothing on his mind except for the hunter before him. Dean had grown so much since he met him. The hunter almost never shared his feelings, and here he was giving a beautiful speech about how much he cared about Cas. Tongues mingling gently, Cas was still new to kissing. Dean had taught him all he knew about love and sex, and he was glad. Now that he had Dean, he didn’t want anyone else. 

Once they parted, Dean smiled, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. 

“I’ll go put her down for the night. Ready to head to bed, Angel?” Dean asked and Cas just simply nodded, heading off in the direction of their now-shared room. 

******

The next morning, Gabe and Sam woke up naked, clothed only in sheets in a five-star hotel. Nothing was too fancy for Gabriel’s tastes. He simply curled up close to Sam’s chest, letting his body wake up. He didn’t want to rush it, just take in the moment of the two of them together. Sam let out a soft grumble, just wrapping his strong arms around the shorter male. 

“You’re not allowed to be grumpy, Mister. We’ve got to get back to our daughter.” Gabe murmured and Sam gave a small smile. 

“Five more minutes, ma?” Sam teased softly, which earned him a soft nose exhale from Gabriel. 

“Alright. Five more minutes, then.” Gabe gave in, going back to sleep with him. 

Leaving Paris was a feeling Sam hadn't felt in a while. He didn’t want to go. It was such an amazing place, and being there with Gabe made it feel even better. Even though he didn’t want to leave, he missed Roslyn. She and Gabe were his whole world now, and he couldn’t wait to get back to her. Ever since she smiled at him, he'd been smitten. 

Arriving back at the bunker, Gabe hurried in, only to find Dean throwing together pancakes. Rosy was in a high-chair drinking her milk that Cas prepared and Dean was singing some Creedence song as he poured batter into the griddle. 

“Hey! Back so soon?” Can smiled and Gabriel stood there, awestruck.

“So I take it you two kissed and made up?” Gabe commented and walked over to steal a chocolate chip (or a handful) from the ingredients that Dean was working with. 

“Mhm. Last night was great. We watched Disney movies and went to bed early.” Cas teased.

“I’m sure babysitter Dean loved that.” Sam grinned and shook his head, heading back to put his bag on the bed, grabbing Gabe’s from him too. 

“How was Paris?” Dean asked and Gabe hummed, letting the chocolate chip melt in his mouth. 

“Amazing. Everything went perfectly according to plan.” 

“So did you propose?” Castiel’s eyes widened and Gabe grinned. 

“Nope.”

“Nope? What? Why not?” Dean asked, his brows furrowed. “You asked me just so you could fake him out?”

“All strategic, my dear Dean. I wanted to do a fake one just so I could gauge how he felt about me. I didn’t want to push anything too soon, so I just faked him out. I promise I’ll give this to him soon.” Gabe whispered softly and pulled out the gold band with dainty angel wings engraved on the outside of the band. 

Dean rolled his eyes. 

“I’ve never understood you.” 

“You’re not supposed to. I like to keep things spontaneous, you see.” The archangel stated with a smile like the cheshire cat. 

“What were you saying?” Sam asked, heading in from the hall. Gabe stashed the ring back away. 

“I was just telling them how much bomb-ass sex we had last night.” Gabe lied playfully and Sam’s cheeks flushed bright red. 

Dean made a face and Cas simply laughed to himself, heading over to the sink to clean Rosy’s empty bottle up. 

“Maybe you two should have one of these creatures. You’re doing a great job.” Gabe pointed out to Cas. 

“Maybe someday. Not now. I don’t think I could handle two kids running around the bunker. We’ve got a reputation to keep up, don't you know.” Dean teased, causing Cas’ heart to flutter. 

_’Maybe someday.’ _He’d said. That gave Castiel a little more hope than what he had before.__

__Gently picking Rosy up out of her highchair, Gabriel held her close to his chest, giving her a hug. Sam wrapped his own arms around the two of them once he headed back out of their room._ _

__“You know, we might just be able to do this Brady Bunch thing.” Dean commented and Sam laughed lowly._ _

__“We just might.” Sam grinned and kissed the top of Gabriel’s head. “If I have to give up hunting in order to keep my family safe, I might just do it.”_ _

__“Does this mean we’re going to retire?” Dean asked with his brows raised._ _

__“I don’t think the Winchesters ever truly go away. If the world is coming to an end, we’ll save it. If anything threatens our family, we end it. I know we always thought that we should hold the world on our shoulders, but we’ve done enough. We deserve to be with the people we love and to live the lives we’ve been putting off on account of everyone else.” Sam spoke and Dean raised his beer._ _

__“Damn right.”_ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end. 'Maybe Someday' I might write a sequel to this. I absolutely love domestic Sabriel and Destiel. I felt like this was a good place for a stopping point, even though there were cliffhangers. I love you all so much and thank you for following through this journey with me. I loved and still love reading all of your comments. As always, comments and kudos, as well as suggestions are appreciated. 
> 
> See you all in the next story!


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